A postcard arrives from the Utah desert bearing a simple message. The words “When you are ready, you’re always welcome” become the first catalyst to shake Gus Cast free from his quotidian existence as a drug using Corporate Data Harvester. Being contacted by his prodigal brother Basil compels Gus to reflect on his existence, and to record his thoughts with poetry in a private journal.

            The Synthetic Synergy Gus inhales before work heightens his ability to observe patterns and lulls him into accepting a world which he once opposed. With a sweet girlfriend and gregarious best-friend to share a successful life with, his philosophical slacker days seem far behind him. The ideological tradeoff he made for a content existence will not be fully realized until a violent attack on the subway platform leaves him immobile and in a state of Synth withdrawal.   

            The Secular Army Marshals Under Right and Authority International (SAMURAI) who patrol the streets and trains of New York were not quick enough to rescue Gus from the hands and feet of a young Japanese gangster. Gus comes to understand that his attack was more than the average violent crime. He learns that Yoshitsura Tada was a professional who utilized the secret and deadly martial arts techniques of the Mizu-Ryu. The hit-man only fell short of his mark due to the intervention of the mysterious and aged homeless gentleman William Ringle who utilized his own brand of fighting wizardry.

            In the aftermath of being a victim and an addict, frightening waking visions follow Gus and force him to look at the unholy side of the modern world and its state of perpetual war. He will make an exodus to the desert in search of Brother Basil. He will become compelled to address the mystery of his attacker, the kindness of his savior, and eventually the greater question of his own identity.