Xeres Meticula is a failure. A casualty of the dot-com bust, he now lives in his parents basement and spends all day on one pursuit, winning The Realm. Joining him in his world are Gek-Lin, an orphan in Thailand who spends her nights in an internet cafe; Dietrich Bjornson, a welder working in Antarctica; and Tres Rawling, a former Olympic skier for England whose career was cut short when an accident left him a quadriplegic. Together they communicate and connect, working to achieve virtual world dominance.