Having shrugged off their programming, Tark and Zyra have been replaced and are now condemned to the fringes of the game. Relentlessly pursued by balls of static that consume everything they come into contact with, it seems certain our heroes won’t last long. Then they meet another Outer, Tee, who introduces them to others who have defied the Designers’ rules. Spurred on by a mythical cheat code, which will release them from the game, Tark, Zyra, Tee and his daughter, Hope, set out to find the Ultimate Gamer -- the only one who can know if the code exists. The Ultimate Gamer is someone Tark and Zyra have met before. If they can prevent him killing them -- something he is determined to do, it would seem -- they just might discover the truth.