Across the galaxy, tensions are rising between the authoritarian Tandesko Triune and the free-marketers of the Auricle Alliance. Nevertheless, scientists of both sides have come together in Project Starmuse to observe the giant star Betelgeuse as it goes supernova. At the space station embedded inside the roiling star, the team anxiously awaits the return of the one man essential to the success of the project. Astronomer Willard Ruskin must discover why someone has infected him with nano-agents-artificially intelligent microscopic computers, which alter his appearance, his memory, his very DNA. Drawn in to a conflict from which not even death will free him, Ruskin must find a way to reach Betelgeuse before his enemies sabotage Starmuse..and humankind's future among the stars. This is a harrowing journey from inside the human cell-to the mind of a dying star.