Jedi were never intended to be soldiers. But now they have no choice. Mace Windu - Jedi Master, skilled diplomat, devastating fighter - must journey alone to the most treacherous jungle planet in the galaxy and into his own heritage. He will leave behind the Republic he serves, the civilization he believes in, everything but his passion for peace and his devotion to his former Padawan. And he will learn the terrible price that must be paid when keepers of the peace are forced to make war.

The Clone Wars have yet to erupt when Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth petitions the Senate for support of a singularly ambitious undertaking. Six Jedi Masters and 12 Jedi Knights, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and 50,000 men, women, and children, will embark on a mission to contact intelligent life and colonize undiscovered worlds. But the mission is secretly being orchestrated by an unlikely ally: the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious.

On the planet Tython, the ancient Je’daii order was founded. And at the feet of its wise Masters, Lanoree Brock learned the mysteries and methods of the Force - and found her calling as one of its most powerful disciples. But as strongly as the Force flowed within Lanoree and her parents, it remained absent in her brother, who grew to despise and shun the Je’daii, and whose training in its ancient ways ended in tragedy. Now, from her solitary life as a Ranger keeping order across the galaxy, Lanoree has been summoned by the Je’daii Council on a matter of utmost urgency.

The war that erupted in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones is nearing its boiling point. The Separatist forces continue their assault on the Republic as the diabolical triumvirate of Count Dooku, General Grievous, and their Master, Darth Sidious, fine-tune their strategy for conquest. Capturing Trade Federation Viceroy and Separatist Councilmember Nute Gunray is the mission that brings Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, with a squad of clones in tow, to Neimoidia.

Mischievous and resolved, courageous to the point of recklessness, Anakin Skywalker has come of age in a time of great upheaval. The 19-year-old apprentice to Obi-Wan Kenobi is an enigma to the Jedi Council, and a challenge to his Jedi Master. Time has not dulled Anakin's ambition, nor has his Jedi training tamed his independent streak.