It starts with a young woman being murdered. Miraculously, a secret deal means she lives again within the Culture. Now, she vows to return and kill her own murderer. Meanwhile, a war in heaven is brewing. Or rather, a war between the Heavens. Heavens are the network of uploaded consciousnesses ? a cyber life after death. But where there are Heavens, Hells soon follow. Wars between these realms are formal digital affairs, but now there are rumours of secret factories building warships and all signs point to the factions of the long-dead and digitised. One man holds the key to making this war manifest in the Real. And a young woman wants her revenge on him.