Surviving the devourers-malignant, dominant beings from another universe-had required several miracles. But one of the leading lights of Toryl and Earth's resistance had disappeared, and the threat hadn't been eliminated permanently. What could be done to prepare the known galaxy for the next wave? How firm was the alliance of freedom-loving planets in the face of both their traditional hegemonic enemies and the inter-universal threat from the devourers, devotees of a cruel god? And what could be gleaned from the continuing discovery of ancient technologies? The devourers had been repelled once before, thousands of years ago. The mystery of who had helped and where they had come from might point the way toward ultimate salvation for the entire universe. But did the people of Earth, Toryl, and their many sisters have enough time to solve it?