Ten years on, the Northern Alliance is at war on multiple fronts. Bio-engineered soldiers locate and destroy Quants while Kazumi's innovations, as CEO of Mashimoto, keep Greater China one step ahead in the Cold War. Mackenzie and Chris plan to escape to the Moon, but Sophie would rather continue her relatively normal life as a climate academic. Nicky and Francois are struggling to continue their humanitarian efforts in a war-torn South America.

One of Sophie's Scania mind-reading sessions for the Northern Alliance leads to a disturbing discovery with global consequences. Her violent lucid dreams in the Quantum Realm are getting worse, too.