"Surrender or die!" For four thousand years the Guardships had issued that dictat. Built and armed by great mercantile houses, their computer cores alive with the engrams of great past leaders, they were feared all along the Web, the spidery network that links the far-flung worlds of Canon Space. Beholders to none, impossible to escape, the invincible warships maintained peace with an iron grip.

Now a dark Presence believes it has found a way to wrest the Web from the invincible. The immortal Ku warrior Kez Maefele knows the ships can be conquered, but he is alone. And as the Guardship VII Gemina streaks across the Web to confront the Presence, he must begin his own battle for survival.