After the wholesale assassination of the Romulan senate in the feature film Star Trek: Nemesis, the Romulan Empire is in disarray, with rival factions fighting to pick up the pieces and seize the reins of power. After several factions separately contact the Federation Council - each laying claim to legitimate political power - Starfleet Command sends Captain William Riker and the USS Titan to Romulus to set up a forum for power-sharing talks. But even as the factions take their first faltering steps towards building a new Romulus, civil war looms.

Meanwhile the remnants of the Romulan intelligence service, the dreaded Tal Shiar, are regrouping behind the scenes, taking advantage of the political vacuum to mobilize ships and soldiers, threatening to touch off a conflict that would tear Romulus apart. With no other help available, Riker and the Titan crew are all that stands between the shattered Star Empire and a bloodbath.