One way in. No way out. In the super-city of Neo Terminus, millions of tech-addicted fans surround a walled-off inner-city wasteland to watch nano-boosted gladiators called Enforcers fight to the death in the Conglomerate-controlled event known as The Zone. Enforcers are promised wealth and celebrity-if they survive. Officer Chance Griffin fights to clean up the mean streets of Neo Terminus, and scrape together enough money for his infant son's vital surgery. Driven by his family's need, Chance becomes an Enforcer for The Conglomerate. As Chance rises to the top of the Enforcer ranks, The Glom's mysterious Founders coerce him into competing in the greatest Zone trial ever conceived. Chance knows he's the favorite to win. He believes his family is safe. He believes his son will get the medical care he urgently needs. Chance is wrong. Too late, he uncovers a plot by The Glom to rig the trial and enslave the citizens of Neo Terminus, ensuring obedience-forever. Blinded by fame and fortune, and used as a pawn by the corporate machine, Chance resists. But he is about to discover that every deal with the devil has its price...