In AD 3320, a human member of the Commonwealth, Inigo, begins to have dreams of the wonderful existence inside the Void.
By AD 3456, the pseudo-religious Living Dream movement exceeds 5 billion members, organizing the followers into a powerful political force.
The first follows Edeard, a young boy who lives inside the Void on a planet called Querencia, the subject of Inigo's dreams.
In Makkathran, Edeard joins the constables and after a brutal couple of months in training, he graduates and is promoted to the commander of his Squad.
A testament to his growing psychic abilities, Edeard's stunt earns him the title of Waterwalker, and he becomes an instant star in Makkathran.
When Ethan, succeeding Inigo as the head of the movement, proclaims that the Living Dream will embark on a pilgrimage into the Void, the Commonwealth is thrown into a state of political chaos.
Fearing that the human migration might cause the Void to expand (and in the process destroy whole systems or even the whole Galaxy) other spacefaring races such as the Raiel and Ocisen Empire are deeply concerned, with the latter threatening military action.
Meanwhile, Accelerator agents make a deal with Ethan, agreeing to give the Living Dream movement Ultra Drives to power their ships.
Accelerator plans are halted when the Delivery Man, a Conservative party agent, destroys valuable FTL Drive tech.
The Intersolar Commonwealth faces mounting turmoil as the deadline for Living Dream's Pilgrimage into the Void approaches.
An Ocisen Empire fleet advances on a mission of genocide, while an internecine war erupts among post-human factions over humanity's future.
Amidst the chaos, investigator Paula Myo struggles to counter the increasingly desperate actions of various agents and factions.
Relentless in her pursuit, she contends with adversaries from her distant past and colleagues of uncertain loyalty, all while racing against time.
At the center of the unfolding crisis is Edeard the Waterwalker, a figure from the distant past who lived deep within the Void.
Exposed as the Second Dreamer, Araminta has become the target of a galaxy-wide search by government agent Paula Myo and the psychopath known as the Cat, along with others equally determined to prevent, or facilitate, the pilgrimage of the Living Dream cult into the heart of the Void.
Meanwhile, the parallel story of Edeard, the Waterwalker, as told through a series of dreams communicated to the gaiafield via Inigo, the First Dreamer, continues to unfold.
Named a Silfen Friend like her ancestress Mellanie, Araminta chooses to face her unwanted responsibilities, with no guarantee of success or survival.
She takes on the role of Second Dreamer to lead the first wave of Living Dream, 24 million people, into the Void, leaving everyone confused and lost by her actions.
Using Dark Fortress technology, she sets up a barrier around the Sol system which leaves ANA and the deterrence fleet trapped inside.
It is this technology which she has equipped the ships travelling to the Void with, the ability to create a forcefield which the warrior Raiel cannot penetrate.
Developed by genius billionaire, Starflyer war hero, co-owner of CST and alternative lifecycle guru Ozzie Issac in AD 3000.
Ozzie developed the Gaiafield with the hope that it would end conflict and division within the Commonwealth and encourage tolerance between sentient life in the Galaxy.
The ANA eventually became the government of Earth and the Commonwealth, housing factions such as the Conservatives, the Accelerators, the Darwinists, the Moderates, and the Separatists.
After the events of the Starflyer War, Paula removed her rigid and unyielding hardwired genetic anomalies by Huxley Haven that made her obsessive and insensitive to criminals.
Cat was caught by Paula Myo after brutally killing Tiger Pansy, who in the years following the Starflyer war resided on Far Away with the Raiel Quatux.
Nigel Sheldon is briefly mentioned to have headed to another galaxy as the Void problem ultimately renders the Milky Way doomed.
They borrowed two DFspheres from the Raiel to generate the barriers around Dyson Alpha and Beta, the two star systems the Prime aliens inhabit, and confine them there (see Commonwealth Saga).