The rogue fox Maxan is very, very far from home. He's dodged the jaws of frenzied beasts and literal lightning bolts called by The Mind Cult in order to finish the journey he started: to reunite the mysterious Relay with the Aigaion, the monolithic spacecraft in the sky. The missing artifact itself is the reason animalkind go Astray, losing their rational minds and reverting to their primal natures.

As supreme Master of the Monitors, an ancient order charged with keeping such technology hidden, the fiendish snake Salastragore awaits the fox's arrival. For decades he's plotted to eradicate the creatures who stand in his way and to overthrow the engineers who program this simulated reality. But for Maxan and all the animals across the world of Herbridia, what the snake sees as simulation is just their ordinary lives.

Along the way, Maxan must recall suppressed memories, resist the lies and manipulation, and accept the ferocity within his own heart to save his world from war and ultimate extinction.