Author of three previous Star Trek novels ( Mindshadow ; Demons ; Blood thirst ), Dillard also wrote the bestselling novelization of Star Trek: The Final Frontier . She credits DC Comics editor Bob Greenberger for the premise of this new installment in the saga. In a storyline constructed to fill in the gaps between the end of the original 1960s TV series and the beginning of the feature-length movie series, the Enterprise docks on Earth, ending its five-year mission, and Kirk, Spock and McCoy go their separate ways. Promoted from captain to admiral, Kirk receives an assignment as special envoy and "diplomatic troubleshooter" in his new role as head of a specially created Starfleet division. Unable to continue serving under Kirk, Spock returns to Vulcan for a teaching position at Vulcan Science Academy. McCoy resigns from the Fleet and then becomes involved with Dwen, a woman with psi talents. A tense hostage situation arises and, naturally, this reunites the Trek team. The contrast of strongly etched, familiar characters in an unpredictable sequence of events provides a situation certain to appeal to the series' fans.