Surprises can come in many forms.

Evaran and the gang receive a summons to NGC 3312, the largest spiral galaxy in the Hydra Supercluster, which is 194 million light-years away from Earth. The summons is also from 1,544,322 AD. They encounter a rift endpoint that is one of many in a stable galactic rift network. Accompanying them is Sandas, a former traveling companion of the first Evaran and the gang.

The Gazjarik Coalition, or GC, controls the surrounding system and the rift endpoint the gang traveled to. An issue occurs when the gang visits Holoc, a large city on the portal's crust. They begin an investigation with Holoc's city council on the condition they take Partanas Etta Grotto as an investigative liaison.

The problem is no one has figured out how to fix the situation the gang encountered. To make matters worse, there is something off with the GC's relationship with the Jannahox, an alien species that can create any form and mines the crust. The gang will need to dig deep across space and time to discover what's going on. If they fail, catastrophic consequences await.