The Merk is restless, dissatisfied with Nexus's performance as champion and executioner since the massacre on Mars. The fallout from that incident is just beginning: Of the two Quatros responsible, Sinclair has disappeared, and Kreed is being tracked by two Gucci assassins hired by the Martian government. The Merk now psychically reaches out to Michana — the youngest daughter of the late General Loomis, bent on revenge.<br><br>Nexus doesn't have the luxury of worrying about any of this, though . . . the artificial black hole known as the Gravity Well is on the verge of collapse, which endangers the entire solar system! He and Judah Maccabee set out to appeal to the one creature who can manipulate black holes . . . Ashram, resident of the Bowl-Shaped World. The only time the duo encountered this strange world, they were with the likewise bizarre Badger!<br><br>And speak of the devil . . .