As the rubber boom reaches its murderous apex in the Amazon region, a riverboat floats down the river. The passengers discover that there are secrets in the jungle and inside themselves.

The squids are right, of course, and you are your own worst enemy, no one will ever love you, and you will never learn anything from your countless mistakes. The best course of action now is probably to drink more rum, and go to the batting cages.

Kennick discovers all the answers about The System he ever could have wanted. He's left with one final question: where does he go from here?

Kennick faces the consequences of his decisions, and the Ozark makes its approach to Mars. What he finds on the red planet is far different than he expected.

All the lies, all the conflicts, everything comes to a head. Kennick makes an irrevocable choice that will impact the fate of Earth, Mars, and the entire human race.

Kennick learns a whole new world is possible. The System is capable of far greater power than he ever thought possible. Now what to do with it?

Kennick realizes he can trust no one, not even himself. With everything in doubt, he makes a decision about where his loyalties lie.

Kennick learns that his own personal history offers clues to his mission; the true history of The System is linked with his own story in ways that will change everything.

Kennick suspects that the freighter crew might know more about his supposedly secret mission than they should. But how much does Kennick himself really know about his own orders, or the people giving them?

In the depths of space, Captain Kennick Anderson travels to Mars onboard the freighter "Ozark" on a very special mission of intrigue and self-discovery. What kind of world is he traveling to--and what kind has he left behind? Even Anderson might not know.