In 1999, astronaut John Crichton was testing an experimental spacecraft when he was sucked down a wormhole.

Now he's trapped on the other side of the galaxy, a fugitive, hunted by a militaristic alien race calling themselves `Peacekeepers.' He's one contemporary human being, stranded in a universe that's gritty, alien and extremely unfriendly. Crichton's only allies: his wits, his pulse pistol, Winona, and his fellow fugitives--his friends. He will see much in this strange, wild new place... but he will lose much as well.

To save the life of Aeryn Sun--former Peacekeeper; John's sometime lover; always a tough chick--Crichton infiltrated a Peacekeeper base. He was captured and tortured by Scorpius, the half-breed Peacekeeper genius that desperately wants what Crichton's got: the secret of creating wormholes.

Crichton escaped (with help. With a lot of help.) but not before Scorpius put a neurochip in Crichton's brain to find the wormhole knowledge.

The chip slowly drove Crichton insane, turning him into a mental clone of Scorpius. Under its control, Crichton attacked Aeryn, with tragic results.

And although Crichton got the chip out of his head, his friends no longer trust him.

Worse, Scorpius has the chip.

Now, the knowledge to cross galaxies in a heartbeat or vaporize planets is loose in the universe, and John Crichton, one human far from home, may be the only one who can destroy it before it's too late....