At the dawn of the interstellar age. Over a millennium before the rediscovery of Tethys. ** The first prequel to the Tethys series. ** In the late 21st century interstellar flight has suddenly become a reality. At the same time on Earth, Infogen's TransNet has become a communications spider's web that threatens to choke freedom and human development. Carl Ilkwood, ruler of this behemoth of influence and power, recalls Jim Corwin, his one-time security chief, to protect his daughter Sam from a series of attacks attributed to the Listerites, a group of cyber terrorists, who want to bring TransNet to its knees. But when Jim returns, he finds that few things are what they appear to be, and that the true danger lies deep within InfoGen itself.