Scientists on the planet Seraph within the "lost" independent human colonies of the Empyrean have encountered "angels" mysteriously emitted by a black hole. These angels hold the ability to render people within close proximity reasonable, calm, and virtually incapable of lying. The Empyrean has harnessed their power, distributing them to all members of their government, in an attempt to promulgate peace among their people.But the leaders of the Earth-based Empire, the Pax, view the angels as an extreme danger to mankind. Amid rumors that the angels are the linchpin of an alien plot to subvert humanity, the Pax dispatch an innocent academic, Jereko Kostas, on a reconnaissance mission to uncover the truth about the angels. Jereko, along with Chandris, a young woman who has spent her life as a petty thief and a grifter, signs on with an "angel-hunting" ship to investigate. When they uncover disturbing facts about the angels and their source, Angelmass, tension between the Empyrean and the Pax builds, and their discoveries set the stage for a major confrontation between the Pax and the stubbornly independent inhabitants of the Empyrean. Read Less