The war against the Blight may be over, but revolutionary and hero Tom Corcorigan knows that an even greater force threatens Nulapeiron: the ominpotent, planet-consuming Anomaly, which has already absorbed billions of humans and alien beings into itself. Tom's association with Eemur's Head, the flensed remains of a powerful Seer, is changing him, bringing new enemies and allies into his life, while more of the true history of the Pilots (including the existence of their home in a universe no ordinary human being can experience: the shifting, living fractal city of Labyrinth) is revealed to him. But, almost without warning, the Anomaly is upon them, decimating Nulapeiron's labyrinthine subterranean realms. And of the survivors, only those commanded by Tom Corcorigan have the slightest chance against this awesome invader: for it seems only a Warlord who is no longer quite human can deliver humanity from darkness...