Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are back, and struggling in the emotional aftermath of the events that brought them to the brink in Hour Game. Dogged by personal demons, Maxwell is seeking solace in a psychiatric institution, after barely surviving a violent barroom brawl. And King, having failed to right their troubled partnership, watches bewildered and mortified by his partner's rapid decline. Relieved to have some distraction, he hastily accepts an offer to investigate a murder at a retreat called Babbage Town, a secret enclave of scientific geniuses working to surpass the capabilities of the most sophisticated microprocessor in the world. But to what end? And more immediate, why do so many of the key players in the menacing project have ties to the institution where Maxwell's staying? Suddenly, the pair find themselves in a race against time to expose a plot that could unhinge the entire global power structure...and destroy what's left of their lives.