When our sun suddenly goes supernova, scorching the Earth and driving humanity to the brink of extinction, the only hope for surviving "The Burning" seems to be the totalitarian Under-Law Nations, or ULN, which forces its citizens into lifelong servitude for the slim chance at a seat on their Lifeboats, generational ships launched annually toward Alpha, the nearest star with potentially habitable worlds.

But Quinn Sandlin, founder of the rogue faction Project Atlas, has a different idea: bring the Earth with us to Alpha, saving not just those deemed worthy by the ULN, but all who have endured through The Burning. From this comes the Daybreaker, whose onboard Gravity Drive allows it to "tow" the planet via the force of a man-made black hole. As the ship must also act as a Second Sun along the precarious fifty-year voyage, the only source of heat and light between stars, Quinn and their crew must constantly fight to maintain the Daybreaker at all costs, as should it fail the Earth and its few remaining inhabitants will freeze in mere minutes.

While the launch of the Daybreaker is met with the wrath of the ULN, an uneasy standoff endures six months into the journey... until an unsettling discovery in deep space threatens both the ship and the planet in its wake.