The year is 2257 and Kira Navárez, a xenobiologist, is sent to investigate a crashed drone, where she discovers the Soft Blade, a type of ancient nanotechnology which adheres to her body and command.
The Soft Blade believes Kira to be in danger and launches and attack on the people around her. She is taken in by Carr, a military doctor, to investigate the entity. They are attacked by the Wranaui, a species who worship The Vanished, thought to be an ancient alien life form who have become extinct and were the ones to develop The Soft Blade. In the battle against them, the Soft Blade accidentally is configured to form into the Maw, an evil entity. The Maw proceeds to form Corrupted soldiers in masses.
The Wranaui believe that the creation of the evil Maw was the human’s doing, and so begin a war against humanity. However, Kira tries to send a broadcasted message to draw in the Soft Blade again. The Soft Blade reveals a relic from The Vanished, known as the Staff of Blue, which would allow her to get rid of the soldiers and the Wranaui.
Kira aligns with the rebels, the Knot of Minds, to find the staff, but they instead find it destroyed. Kira then develops her powers with the soft lade and manages to kill the Wranaui leader, Ctein. However, when it comes to fighting the Maw, Kira is unsuccessful and the Maw disperse into seven different directions of the universe. The book ends with Kira setting off to find the Maw pieces.
