Renie, !Xabbu, Martine, Orlando and Fredericks, along with several others, find themselves in an uncomfortable situation. In the simulation world, they are held prisoner by the king of Temilún (the golden city), who is none other than Bolivar Atasco, a former member of the Grail Brotherhood. Furthermore, they are unable to drop offline, and experience terrible pain if disconnected by others. Summoned to an audience with Atasco and his wife, they meet a mysterious man named Sellars, who claims to have gathered them. Sellars gives them a mission: they are to find Paul Jonas, who is at large somewhere within Otherland's many simulation worlds. But before the briefing can finish, the Atascos' home in the real world is assaulted by assassins working for the Grail Brotherhood. Bolivar and his wife are murdered, and Sellars vanishes. Even as the group flees Temilún, one of their "sims"—simulation bodies—is secretly taken over by John Dread, a murderous young man who directed the Grail Brotherhood's assault on the Atascos and who now seeks to learn about Otherland to his own advantage.