-Book opens with Markham leaving, reasons have something to do with the previous book that I don’t remember.

-Leon,Matthew, Mikey and Adrian have left to protect St Mary’s archive and find a new “safe house” location.

-Dr Barstow is killed in a car crash.

-st Mary’s is taken over by Cmdr John Treadwell.  He brings with him Captain Hysop to run Security, with Markham gone. She brings her own security team; Max thinks they are all half-wits.

-Max, Hyssop and assorted historians and security go to Babylon. Historians Clerk and Prentiss are taken as slaves.  The rest leave, but Max returns to rescue them.  But they’ve been there a year and Clerk has had a baby and won’t leave.  So they stay in Babylon.

-Max is dishonorably discharged for all kinds of things involving the rescue mission to Babylon.  She leaves.

-She winds up working with a bounty hunter named Pennyroyal. Markham shows up and joins them. Antics ensue.

-Dr Barstow is not dead after all but being held in a place called The Red House.  She and Markham prepare to break him out but Hyssop and crew show up to put a stop to everything,  Max is injured.

-Having escaped, Max asks Dr Barstow for the truth.  It was all a very convoluted scheme created in response to “something going horribly wrong” in the world;  he thinks it might be the beginning of the Time Wars