**In this thrilling *Star Trek* novel, the crew of the *Starship Enterprise* embarks on its most ambitious assignment yet: to lead a courageous band of settlers to a far-off planet and defend the fragile new colony from alien threats amidst the mysteries of a stunning new Earth.** A six-month journey from the Federation, the planet Belle Terre offers a new life to more than 30,000 families, pioneers, scientists, expatriates, go-getters, loners, and entrepreneurs, all under the watchful eye of Captain Kirk and his crew. But the would-be colonists have barely settled in the untamed wilderness of their new home when Spock makes a startling discovery: not only does the planet’s moon contains a rare ore of almost inestimable value, that same moon is also violently unstable. Within months, it will inevitably explode—destroying all life on Belle Terre. Will the *Starship Enterprise* be able to save this new Earth and all its inhabitants before it’s too late?