Phoenix is simmering in the heat of a lazy July morning in 2195 when the execution-style murder of a young boy shatters the complacency of a population that hasn't seen anyone die from natural causes for almost two centuries. Enter Malcolm Godfrey, a darkly brilliant alpha-male with an axe to grind. Malcolm's insatiable appetite for power, money and women have made him a highly intelligent monster who is plotting the ultimate corporate take-over, a coup d'etat. Malcolm believes that he is the chosen one, but there is just one more loose end to tie up before the final stage of his sinister...