Dak Hamiko had never even heard of the Matrix. Nobody had, not for millennia, but The Matrix was not gone, only waiting. It had a purpose, in pursuit of which it was prepared to be every bit as ruthless as the imperialists of Tok-ai-Do. It was Dak's misfortune to be caught between two such irresistible forces, yet ultimately it was his plight which stirred the conscience of the Alliance and his flight which set the Twelve Circles afire with controversy. The Matrix is a fantasy of the far future in which everything is different except the people. Generous, ingenious, obstinate, optimistic, brilliant, brutal and brave, it is the people - in the widest sense of the word - who are the heroes of this tale. There are no villains.