The chase continues. Doug and Chris Scott fought their way through what they thought was a rogue virtual reality program, but which turned out to be something much more frightening and unfathomablea true alternative reality. On the way back to Hong Kong where it all began, they died in a plane crash and awakened in an empty universe. Their only company is the mysterious Grasshopper Man, who serves as occasional messenger and guide. Another young couple falls into the alternative bittersweet nightmare, computer programmer Stan Brent and his mathematician wife Audrey, in this second book of The Grasshopper Man series. Trapped in what they come to call The System with them are colleagues Mary Wells, Luke Simmons, and Jacob Ellery. The mercenary computer guru Ann Crenshaw and her two assistants, Todd Richards and Brett Thompson, follow them into the trap. They are pursued through time and place by Indonesian pirates, battle their way across wartorn France, relive harrowing episodes from their own pasts, and endure other adventures in Nepal, Irian Jaya, New Zealand, the U.S., and other times and places. Their only help comes from the enigmatic Jane, who was sent in to rescue Doug and Chris and became trapped herself. But how long will she be there to help? On the outside, four homeless Chinese children from mainland China are trapped in their own adventures, intersecting occasionally with the others in The System. The storylines continue to explore the nature of Reality as they continually prove that Love is the most important Reality.