The novel follows Joachim Boaz, a deformed space pilot who has been rebuilt with a regenerating artificial skeleton by a group of philosophers called the Collonadists. The Collonadists teach that all events in the universe are cyclical and destined to repeat themselves eternally. After a catastrophic accident, Boaz suffers immense pain that his new skeleton won’t allow him to escape by dying. Haunted by the belief that he will have to relive this agony every time the universe resets, he vows to prove the Collonadists wrong. His quest for vengeance leads him to the lost, wandering planet of Meirjain, which is rumored to hold powerful “time gems” capable of altering the flow of time itself. Boaz believes these gems are his only chance to break the cycle of eternal recurrence.
