At the dawn of the forty-first millennium, Lord Commander Macharius and his forces embark upon the re-conquest of over a thousand worlds. A man of steel and fire, Macharius is the only one with the will to lead the massed armies of the Imperium to victory. As the crusade rolls onwards, it reaches the world of Karsk. In the city of Irongrad, the Imperial forces face the crusade’s end, unless Macharius and his army can defeat the dreaded Angel of Fire

As the crusade reaches its apex, Lord Solar Macharius is drawn by a prophecy to the world of Demetrius in search of an ancient artefact - the Fist of Demetrius. Rumours and legends abound of the artefact’s providence as a weapon of a primarch, the lords of the Horus Heresy. With it, Macharius believes his success and victory is assured but others crave this potent weapon, and the dark eldar will do anything to obtain it

In the last years of the Crusade, Macharius comes to Loki. This heavily industrialised world is the bastion of the Lord Solar's arch-nemesis, the traitor Richter. Formerly one of Macharius's trusted advisors, Richter's betrayal is indicative of the low morale and dissent amongst the Imperial forces. Brought to the edge of the known galaxy, thrust into a plague-ridden hell of trench warfare, Macharius faces his sternest test. As the end of the Crusade dawns, this could be an end to the Imperium's war and the final fall of Macharius