From the national bestselling author of When Duty Calls, the first book in an exciting new science fiction duology.In a far-distant future, the Uman Empire has spread to the stars and beyond, conquering and colonizing worlds, ruling with a benevolent—but iron—fist. The Pax Umana reigns, and all is well. But on one planet, the remnants of a violent, shape-shifting race called the Sagathis are confined, kept captive by xeno-cops, who have been bio-engineered to be able to see through their guises. Still, sometimes one manages to escape.Zak Cato is a xeno-cop. He's returning a fugitive Sagathi when things go horribly wrong. Cato— the only survivor after the rest of his men are slaughtered—must now figure out who betrayed them and bring the alien in, whatever the cost.