Something's gone wrong in Noir City. A not insignificant sub-sector of the fully immersive, three-dimensional metaverse has been compromised: hijacked and modified by persons unknown into something else entirely, something threatening not only the spirit of the game, but, potentially, the players themselves. Or at least their credit ratings. Two-fisted corporate troubleshooter Eddie Faust is certain that it's just another case of bored hackers playing their tiresome hacker games, and he fully anticipates wrapping the case up in time for happy hour. But things break weird almost immediately, massive weird, when participants from other games – players and NPCs alike – start leaking into the closed universe that is – or should be – Noir City. And who is the mysterious Mr. K, neither a registered player nor an NPC, who appears out of nowhere and offers to "help"?