"The flame crackled as it burst through the thick steel and immediately started to trace a slow glowing path.." So begins the fast-paced sci-fi thriller that is Agencies. The discovery of a hidden chamber on the Moon starts a chain of explosive conflicts between the now-privatised security agencies on Earth several hundred years from now. Carth, on an unknown mission, must carefully thread his way through the escalating hostilities between the two most prominent Agencies.