In the year 3044, humanity struggles in the war against SLAG - a corrupting hive mind that consumes and absorbs everything and everyone in its path. With no future in sight and no home to return to, the young private Huxley makes a desperate attempt to escape combat. Through pained success, he finds himself out of the frying pan and into the fire as he is assigned guard duty to a slagologist and her artifact of study. Little does he know he is about to embark on the defining struggle of his life.