Set in the world of the High Republic, 150 years before the storytelling of Phase I, an era of change brings new hopes and possibilities . . .  but also new dangers. 

The Outer Rim planet Dalna has become the focus of a Jedi investigation into a stolen Force artifact, and Zallah Macri and her Padawan, Kevmo Zink, arrive on the pastoral world to follow up on a possible connection to a Dalnan missionary group called the Path of the Open Hand. Members of the Path believe that the Force must be free and should not be used by anyone, not even the Jedi. One such believer is Marda Ro, a young woman who dreams of leaving Dalna to spread word of the Path throughout the galaxy.

When Marda and Kevmo meet, their connection is instantaneous and electric—until Marda discovers Kevmo is a Jedi. But Kevmo is so kind and eager to learn more about the Path, that she hopes she can convince him of the rightness of her beliefs. What Marda doesn’t realize is that the leader of the Path, a charismatic woman known only as the Mother, has an agenda of her own, and it is one that can never coexist peacefully with the Jedi. 

In order to follow her faith, Marda may have to choose to become her new friend’s worst enemy. . . .