3,500 A.D.--LET THE GAME BEGIN . . .

Professor Peter Blackwood, a former Space Marine turned scientist, looks forward to retirement on a paradise resort planet.

A powerful alien intelligence in the form of a vast red energy cloud cuts Blackwood's plans short, snatching him from the hyperspace highway, and catapulting him light years away to a remote planet in an unexplored region of space.

With his ship damaged and unable to escape, Blackwood encounters a distant human colony on planet Enigma, a world controlled by the red cloud and populated by mortals and powerful overlords--immortal human beings with godlike powers.

When Blackwood's desire to escape is replaced by his intense scientific curiosity, he becomes a player in a dangerous socio-political game designed by the red cloud. It's a game Blackwood cannot afford to lose--for on his shoulders rests the destiny of millions of people.