The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Paolini, Christopher. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, A Tor Book Published by Tom Doherty Associates, 2020.

During a routine survey mission on Adrasteia, xenobiologist Kira Navaréz came across a series of jagged rocks unlike anywhere else on the planet. As she began to examine the rocks the ground collapsed, and Kira finds herself in a chamber that belonged to an alien species. After briefly examining the area Kira is consumed by alien dust and she loses consciousness.

When Kira wakes up, she finds herself back on the Fidanza along with the rest of the crew. The UMC quarantined the whole system until they figured out if the xeno she found could spread. That night, Kira experienced an all-consuming pain, and as her crewmates surrounded her in support, blades shot out from her skin, impaling her friends and fiancé.

The next day Kira wakes up in quarantine on the Extenuating Circumstances and is interrogated by Major Tschetter. She wanted to find out if there was any threat of the xeno spreading and left Kira with Doctor Carr to run tests. However, Carr was extremely rough on Kira, and bombarded her with lasers attempting to break through the xeno's shield. However, shortly thereafter, the ship is ambushed by aliens looking to reclaim the suit. Kira is able to fight them off, and she realized that the suit allowed her to communicate with the alien species. After sending Doctor Carr, the alien, and herself into space, she secured a ship to make her way back to the league.

After nearly three months of travel, Kira wakes up to find herself aboard the SLV Wallfish, a civilian ship heading to Rusland. Kira learned that a war had broken out since leaving the Extenuating Circumstances. After initially hiding her identity and the true origin of the suit on her body, Kira told Captain Falconi the truth about her and the xeno, and her ability to communicate with the Jellies. She asked him to reroute to Malpert Station, and on the way let her board a Jelly ship so she could learn more about them.

After the crew battled some Jellies and made it onto one of the Jelly Ships, an ancient memory comes to Kira via the skin suit which she now calls the Soft Blade. The memory points her in the direction of another powerful alien relic called the Staff of Blue capable of wiping out entire species. While a little fuzzy on the details, she was sure that they needed to get their hands on it before the Jellies.

The Wallfish makes it to Malpert Station and they meet Captain Akawe of the UMCS Darmstadt. Since the Wallfish had disobeyed direct orders by going after the alien ship, he was less than welcoming. Despite this, Kira was able to convince the captain of the severity of the situation and is able to recruit him and the UMCS Darmstadt to find the Staff of Blue. Yet again, the crew finds themselves on a long journey to distant parts of the galaxy.

Despite being able to locate the chamber on Nidus where the Staff of Blue was held, when they arrived it had already been smashed into pieces. At the same time, they find themselves trapped by Jellies and another alien life form called the Nightmares, which were even more deadly. With their backs against the wall, the crew is surprised to see Major Tschetter waving a white flag along with a group of Jellies. As it turns out, she was picked up on Adra back when the Extenuating Circumstances exploded by a group called the Knot of Minds. Tschetter explains that the Jellies were planning to wipe out the UMC forces, and the only way to stop them was to work together and "coordinate a surgical strike on their government" (425). As the crew made their way off Nidus, Kira realized that the nightmares, or the Maw, had actually been her creation. When she blew up an oxygen line on the Extenuating Circumstances, she sent Doctor Carr, a Jelly, and fragments of the xeno into space, creating a mutated form of two races with extreme power.

With the new information from the Knot of Minds, the Wallfish heads for Orstead Station to relay the information to get the support of the League. But the league had other plans, and thew the crew of the Wallfish in holding cells, and sent the Seventh Fleet to eliminate the Knot of Minds. Knowing that peace between the Knot of Minds and humanity was the only way to conquer the nightmares, Kira staged a breakout, released the crew and they headed to intercept the Knot of Minds before it was too late.

Thankfully, they were able to make it without much time to spare, and they rendezvoused with the Knot of Minds in Cordova-1420. Lphet, leader of the Knot of Minds, told Kira that in order to take control of all the Jellies, she would have to kill the mighty Ctein, leader of the Wranaui. Despite her immense fear, Kira stood brave and accepted the challenge in front of her.

The Wallfish made it to the battleship which held Ctein, and the crew made their way through the various floors fighting off Jellies. Finally, Kira faced Ctein, and thanks to some help from Falconi and his grenade launcher, Kira inserted the Soft Blade's tendrils into an open wound, and slew Ctein from the inside out. But despite the colossal task she just completed, there were still the nightmares to take care of. Kira asked Falconi to release one of the remaining Casaba-Howitzers, and she used the bomb's plutonium to power the suit. Kira flew directly toward the cancerous monstrosity that was the Maw, and struck it with all her power. But it was not enough. Kira could feel the anger of the Maw as she connected with it, and she could feel herself being consumed by it. She tried with all her might to resist it, but it was no use. Instead, Kira surrendered and embraced the Maw, "welcoming it into her" (778). Suddenly there was a change, she could feel the jolt from the bomb inside her and blackness came over her.

Kira wakes up to find she is still alive, but not in the same form as before. She now holds all the knowledge of the Old Ones, the creators of the Seed. With it, she created Unity, a space station with all the technology of the Vanished for humanity and the Wranaui to study. The station was a symbol of peace between the two races, free of any government and weapons. Although the spirit of Kira lives on, her aspirations are no longer tied to her desires. Instead, she realized she must rid the world of the other avatars that run wild among the stars.