The assault on the planet was thwarted by the destruction from the aliens’ seed ship, but with Mars still under Lanky control, survivors work frantically to rebuild fighting capacity and shore up planetary defenses. Platoon sergeant Andrew Grayson must crash-course train fresh volunteers-all while dulling his searing memories of battle with alcohol and meds.

Knowing Earth’s uneasy respite won’t last, the UNITED STATES Commonwealth and its Sino-Russian allies hurtle toward two dangerous options: strike the Lanky causes on Mars or follow deserters who stole a fleet of invaluable warships critical to winning the war. Assigned to a little special ops recon objective to scout out the renegades’ stronghold on the distant moon, Grayson and his wife, dropship pilot Halley, once again find themselves headed for the crucible of combat-and a shattering new marketing campaign in the war for humanity’s long term.