Marina Karssen, it seems, has been dealt a bad hand in life. After dealing with disownment by her family, a particularly bad breakup, and being kidnapped and experimented on by a power-hungry alien known as Apophis, she finds it unlikely that things will be any better at Stargate Command.To make matters worse, she's on borrowed time. Inside her, an alien weapon is growing, threatening to take her over.But Marina isn't ready to give up her life yet.