Grieving for the loss of his beloved friend Tahl, Qui-Gon Jinn has been sent back to the Jedi Temple to recover. This peace is soon shattered by an urgent mission -- a youg boy with a knack for technology has intercepted a message that indicates a mass assassination of planetary leaders is about to take place. It is up to Qui-Gon and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to protect the boy from the bounty hunter assassins and to foil the deadly plot.

Joining Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan on their mission are Jedi Master Adi Gallia and her headstrong apprentice Siri Tachi. Obi-Wan and Siri have been sparring friends for a long time. As the assassins' pursuit tightens, they find their relationship beginning to change in an unexpected direction...

A generation later, Obi-Wan, Siri and the boy they tried to save are reunited once more -- with the fate of the Clone Wars hinging on the outcome. Old tensions rise once more -- as well as new conflicts and secrets. Obi-Wan's apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, has many things to hide, and when his secret wife, Padmé Amidala, joins the Jedi mission, the risk becomes even greater than before.

Author Jude Watson writes this new Star Wars novel, scheduled for release in March of 2005 from Scholastic, Inc. In the tradition of Legacy of the Jedi, this book spans generations of Jedi, telling a tale that is both epic and personal.

Here is a first look at the cover illustrated by David Mattingly and designed by Keirsten Geise.