The exiled timeship Slipstream has turned renegade, refusing the call to return to Homeworld. Instead, the ship heads toward Earth and a reunion with the humans who shared its last adventure. The High Council of Homeworld must send three inexperienced Timers to retrieve Slipstream before it can damage the timeline and alter the course of the future. However, their explosive arrival precipitates unsettling changes on the volatile planet: communications satellites drift out of orbit and combative governments accuse each other of sabotage. A few rare time-sensitives experience disorienting episodes of alternate time. One of these time-sensitives is racing driver Marti Hansen, who suffers a devastating accident-or does she? Her new husband, rock superstar Derek Hamilton, feels the urgent need to work for Team HansenRacing, which doesn't even exist-yet. His musical collaborator Zora Covell and her husband Harry are suddenly thrust into new roles: the reserved Zora sings onstage with Derek, and Harry finds himself competing in a Grand Prix, though he has never driven a race car! All four humans and the three inexperienced Timers discover depths of loving and courage that they never expected. Can they work together to avoid a catastrophe? And will the mysterious, starry nightgems stored in Slipstream's lockers help or hinder their quest?