These are troubled times. MARA, the mighty blue supergiant of the Torvus Iubar System is dying, as are the other thirteen ambistars that make up the Ambistar Collective. Billions of lives are in peril. What conceivable force could cause the simultaneous death of fourteen ambistars thousands of light-years apart?

Since the peace accord between Giri Null and GAIA three years ago, Torvus has prospered and been relatively stable, save for the remaining rogue Grefim who still plague commercial shipping lanes. Recent weeks in particular have seen a number of GAIA freighters simply disappearing in Torvus. More warships have been dispatched to the area, but the rogue Grefim remain elusive and their prey vanished without a trace.

A warship notifies Brad and Alex of a call for help from an imprisoned teslalite on a planet near MARA. Drawn in by their debt of gratitude to these most mysterious life forms, they decide to assist. From that moment on they're hurtled into a hectic series of events and discoveries that even challenge the imagination of their new passenger – GAIA's most expensive AI.

They discover a dangerous new world - one thought to be impossible. Stranger still, they find it to be inextricably connected to the Ambistar Collective. Is there a way to avert the impending crisis? An abandoned alien artifact may hold some desperately-needed answers.