MAMAI Soliton found a way to travel through the toroid artefact in the Anti-STARC. The cryptic note he left before disappearing leads Brad and Alex to Drupa 5, a deserted alien planet. There they find a beacon in a desert canyon that might belong to MAMAI.

Next thing they hit upon a treasure trove of alien artefacts; to Alex, an explorer's dream come true - to Brad, too good to be true. Alex's personality suddenly changes. And then there are the shapes....

This moment strains their friendship and marks the start of a devious plan by unseen agents. Subsequent events drive the rift between them ever wider. Can trust win through when reality itself is being manipulated? Can friendship survive in a game dictated by malevolent superbeings?

Alex is soon lost in a higher dimension where his only hope is a friend's loyalty. In his desperation Brad accepts the help of a sinister warship and soon finds himself at the forefront of GAIA's power struggle with an old enemy, an enemy that has just taken the arms race to a completely new, and terrifying level.