Blaise Cunningham was a Nobel-Prize winner, the world's foremost expert in artificial intelligence and one of the best computer programmers alive. He was also a falling-down drunk whose only friends were an intelligent computer, a good woman, a bad scientist, and a frisky puppy named Dobie.

But Cunningham had plenty of enemies, including a couple would-be dognappers. They wanted Dobie, and Cunningham Didn't know why. He was afraid tthey'd kill the puppy, and he couldn't allow that. Even a drunk has come principles.

It was a while before Cunningham realized that he was just a pawn in a game where science was warring for men's souls and thousands of lives had already been scrificed