Scotty's plan, however, does not go as expected. Though Kirk is rescued, the famed captain and the engineer, as well as Captain Picard, Guinan, and the crew of the Enterprise-D, are trapped in an altered past where there is no Federation, and no Human race. Sarek of Vulcan leads a ragtag collection of species fighting a losing battle against the Borg, who have swarmed into the Alpha Quadrant and assimilated Earth.

Starfleet's finest miracle worker must find a way to restore the timeline before the galaxy is overrun...

This novel was apparently originally intended for release in August 2001.

Over the course of the novel, it is revealed that Kirk's removal from the Nexus resulted in Picard either failing or dying in his attempt to stop Tolian Soran in Star Trek Generations. As a result, Picard wasn't present when Earth was attacked by the Borg in Star Trek: First Contact, and, without his natural knowledge of the Borg from his time as Locutus, the Borg attempt to prevent First Contact was successful and Earth was easily assimilated. This led to an alternate timeline where the Federation never existed, and the last unassimilated species in the Alpha Quadrant are on the verge of defeat to the Borg.