PROLOGUE

When an alien invasion plunges the Earth into chaos, our greatest cities fall, their inhabitants hunted, enslaved or killed. One desperate group of survivors discovers humanity's only hope: an alien weapon powerful enough to reshape worlds. But an ancient intelligence also desires the talisman, an abomination feared even by the forces of the Peerless Empire. The survivors must undertake a nightmare quest across a nation transformed by alien violence and human treachery. Can they survive long enough to save the human race?