With an unexpected passenger aboard the Rocinante, Holden and crew undertake a dangerous mission that could shift the balance of power in the war. Drummer decides to make an uneasy alliance. Filip wrestles with his guilt.
Two hundred years in the future, in a fully colonized Solar System, detective Josephus Miller, born in the asteroid belt, is given the assignment to find a missing young woman, Julie Mao. Joining his task is James Holden, formerly first officer of an ice freighter who is involved in an incident caused by the tense relationship between Earth, Mars and the Belt. Soon the two find out that the missing woman is connected to a vast conspiracy.