The Craton and her crew return to the Sol System, the original home of humanity. For many of her crew, born far from the cradle of our species, it is a unique event, to see the world that nurtured us into existence. For those from Earth, though, a harsher reality is known, as the history of our world is not one of tranquility and peace.

With a pending trial against him, Brooks confronts his past on Earth, while Apollonia gets a dream both crushed and fulfilled. This is the calm before the storm, for people to look inward and come to grips with themselves and their reality.