Amoral, shrouded in secrecy, answerable to no one, Section 31 operates outside the constraints of either conscience or the law. They are the covert operations arm of Starfleet. Their mission: to protect the Federation at whatever cost.

Mere days after the startling events which unfolded in Deep Space Nine: Avatar, Dr Julian Bashir faces his darkest nightmare when Section 31 compels him to undertake a mission to stop one of their own. But this renegade is no ordinary agent. Like Bashir, Dr Ethan Locken is genetically enhanced, a human superior in both body and mind. Unlike Bashir, however, Locken dreams of remaking the galaxy in his own image - and of creating a new human empire based on the example of the infamous Khan Noonien Singh.

As he begins to understand the terrifying truth about his opposite number, Bashir will learn more about himself than he ever wanted to know.