When games are this lifelike, who needs reality? It’s a question Tau Ceti private eye Rich Weed has never wrestled with. He prefers his handshakes firm and his women fleshy, not pixilated. But when a missing persons case takes an unexpected turn, Rich is forced to dive into the digital world of fully immersive Brain games—and fend for his life therein.

Luckily, the games aren’t real, but the nefarious scheme he finds himself mired in upon logging out certainly is. With a fellow detective at his side, Rich must untangle the threads of a twisted conspiracy in pursuit of an interplanetary con artist, all while putting his neck squarely on the line. The difference is, in the real world—there are no respawns.