As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance-now a fledgling New Republic-presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy´s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy´s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but he´s taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.
Meanwhile, on the planet´s surface, former rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world-war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles´s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn´t know is just how close the enemy is-or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.
Determined to preserve the Empire´s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit-to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven´t reckoned on Norra and her newfound allies-her technical-genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector-who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire´s oppressive reign once and for all.