Eon's infinitely long artifical universe, the Way, contains a multitude of worlds. In its early days a beautiful place, Lamarckia, has been found. Over four thousand dissidents emigrate there illegally and the young Hexamon agent, Olmy, is sent to investigate the people and their new world. Lamarckia's evolution is stunning and unimaginable. Like nothing Olmy has ever seen it leads him into the Heart of Darkness and beyond, to an understanding of Earth's legacy.