He is a runaway Dreamer, but he must stay awake -- or else the universe will be invaded by the Unreals. From his dreams the most popular virtual realities are constructed - but he has disappeared into the underworld. And Alina Nemitz, a top executive of the Nets, will be thrown from her good life in the beautiful city unless she finds him. But that means returning to her shadowy past to find him. The only one who can help her is her ex-lover, Barkas Todd, whom she has ordered executed. And only Mikel Smith, a test-tube spy with no imagination, knows where the Dreamer is - if he doesn't fall victim to the Lady of the Awakening, leader of the Unreals. Meanwhile, Symington, a bizarre recluse in the war-slagged regions Outside, is preparing an invasion of the city. Thus the Dreamer is scared. If he falls asleep, the Unreals - everything that has never existed and cannot even be imagined - will come crashing through his dreams and destroy reality.