The circle of friends who had survived the horrendous events detailed in Privileges and Immunities and Liberty and Justice For.... were at the point of retiring in January 2029. The world was in chaos as nations of the Northern Hemisphere were battling one another and repressing their own populations. The friends decided to take what was nominally billed as a retirement celebration cruise to Antarctica and South America. A set of tragic events extinguished any hope of their return home. The friends settled in Santiago, Chile, found new work, and faced violence and death while attempting to solve a decades-old mystery.