Henry Gallant thought Alaina loved him, but now she's found someone else. A tidal wave of loss and grief swept over him, leaving him undecided about what to do next, or how to move forward.
Despite his sorrow, he goes on a dangerous mission to an invading aliens' home world in the Gliese-581 star system. There he uses a neural interface to penetrate their communication network and steal a high ranking alien's identity. Through this artifice he learns about their history and society, and discovers a way to hinder and possibly defeat them.
A side-effect of linking into the alien network--which was created for autistic savants--is that Gallant's mind is stimulated and enhanced to the point where he begins to experience superintelligence abilities.
Upon returning from his mission, there is concern that Gallant might pose a more serious threat than the aliens. While he struggles to fend off those who doubt his loyalty, he fights to win back Alaina.
