The cold war with Baltan is finally showing signs of ending, but now Sally has a new problem. Planet New Ontario is becoming important again. The Masters have been displaced by a band of rebels with mysterious powers. Growing on the surface of this world is a massive structure that is generating enormous amounts of energy. Earth wants answers, and Sally is being asked to get them. But she won't do it alone. She enlists the help of the Szzzyyyxx, a peaceful, if unusual species on the other side of a fold beyond the asteroid belt. Sally must put a strain on this new friendship to ask for help in what could easily deteriorate into a war. But more is happening on New Ontario than just an insurrection. The growing band of former slaves now has the aid of a mysterious benefactor who is using them to build a machine that bends time. But who is this benefactor and what does he want? The answer is more terrifying than the question. Now Sally must work to prevent a disaster that could have implications throughout all of human history.