Teenager Tom Raines, whose life consists of traveling with his father to casinos and winning enough money for a living by playing virtual games, is about to get the shock of his life. The Pentagon Spire, an elite military establishment, is recruiting him to their Intrasolar Forces, a space program operated by virtual interface from Earth. The Pentagon needs his gaming skills to defeat China's new ace pilot, but a mole in the Spire may make that goal impossible from the start.