A police detective in the asteroid belt, the first officer of an interplanetary ice freighter, and an earth-bound United Nations executive slowly discover a vast conspiracy that threatens the Earth’s rebellious colony on the asteroid belt. Hundreds of years into the future, Earth has colonized Mars but Mars is now independent, and the two planets are in a constant state of distrust and unease. Caught between these two are the people of the asteroid belt and outer planets. James Holden, the executive officer of a freighter witnesses his ship, being destroyed by what appears to be a Martian warship.

This heightens the tensions between Earth and Mars and sets Holden and his remaining crew on a quest across the solar system to find the truth behind the incident. Meanwhile, on Ceres in the Asteroid Belt, a police detective is searching for the daughter one of the wealthiest man in the System. These are all parts of a conspiracy that will threaten all life in the Solar System.