In all the Empire, there are no more fearsome warriors than the Emperor's Imperial Guard, and none is more loyal than Kir Kanos. But when Carnor Jax—the most formidable of this elite brotherhood—betrays the Emperor and orders the murder of the Guard, Kir must escape to carry out his duty to avenge his master. Devoted to the last, Kir must nonetheless ally himself with Rebel forces to help him attain his retribution in the face of the Empire's full might brought down to destroy him. For Kir Kanos, the last royal Imperial Guard and the final threat to Jax's rise to power, there are no alternatives—loyalty never dies.