Synopsis: Leaving behind their homeworld of Earth, the descendants of man set out across the dark ocean of space to find new worlds to conquer. Three centuries later, two mighty powers - the United Central Systems and the Sondak confederacy - clashed in a titanic struggle to control the stars. The Double Spiral War Strategically located midway between the U.C.S. and Sondak, the Matthews system commanded space for a hundred thousand parsecs in all directions. It was here, in the opening campaign of the war, that two old enemies met once again in a deadly dance of maneuver and counterstrike. And it was here that two young lovers were torn apart by the bitter winds of war. (adapted from the back cover of the first edition)