Logan is having a rough day. He hasn't slept in weeks, his crew is near mutiny, and his latest project is predicting a massive attack of some sort right here in Shanghai. And all before his morning congee. The year is 2084. Shanghai is a decaying husk of its former self, an empty city staffed by Party members and an army of scavengers recycling the infrastructure to keep things running. Most of the population now lives inside Zhongguo, a virtual replica of the real world introduced by China as a technological solution to climate change, a fix that lets users cling to their quality of life while meeting strict carbon quotas. Logan operates a goldfarm between these two worlds, a shelter for refugees who survive by providing unauthorized Zhongguo services to a select clientele. But his fragile sanctuary has been teetering for months, and a new arrival may soon tip them all over the edge.