In Jon Ryan's life, two billion years down his time stream, he's see many an odd thing. But mixing in the bizarro world of the Ancient Gods has burdened him to the brink with the crazy, the inexplicable, and the just plain wrong. But he remains true to his mission. He must stop the Cleinoid threat to his universe. An impossible appearing task to be certain.Then Jon suffers an undeniably awkward setback. He is killed. Gáwar, the uber-powerful god of demons, smashes Jon to bits and then eats the little pieces. Bad day for Jon Ryan. Bad day for all our hopes. His friends struggle to go on, to defeat the Ancient Gods, but what seemed impossible before is now not even an acceptable pipe dream.Despirate to find a capable team, Sapale reunites with Mirraya/Slapgren, the Deft master-witch. Along with Daleria and Tono, they undertake the dangerous and problematic task of locating the alternate timeline Jon Ryan, EJ. They suspect he is able to kill the Cleinoid gods and are anxious to learn his secrets. But EJ is as challenging to deal with as always. Any help he might supply always comes at a price that is difficult to justify.Will our Jon Ryan stay dead? He didn't before. Is there a force in any universe that can end the threat of the Ancient Gods? There never has been. Buckle up and prepare for your continued hypersonic rollercoaster ride in the Ryanverse!