Synopsis: On the planet Nilson - the Network is ruthlessly exploiting the people and their world, and only a miner called Arlan and the rebel Deliaja can see the dangers of the encroaching darkness.... From his private Network stronghold - Council Governor Caragen sets a seemingly inescapable trap for one of his archenemies, a trap which Quin Hamley - an immortal native to the closed world of Network 3 - easily evades with the barest edge of his power.... In the heart of the Consortium - the Calongi masters find themselves forced to take an interest in Nilson and the Network when a Consortium trader is brought up on charges for egaging in the sale of illegal devices... On the backwater sanctuary of Siatha - Healer Rabh Marrach is forced to confront a past he'd thought long and safely buried... And suddenly humans, mutants, and aliens alike must confront the most devastating disturbance in the balance between worlds and universes, a wild force which, if left unchecked, could prove the doom of both Network and Consortium... (from the back cover of the DAW Books first edition)