Jesse Faden arrives at the Oldest House, the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, after receiving a telepathic calling from a paranatural being she refers to as "Polaris," which she shares a special connection with. Seeking the whereabouts of her brother Dylan, who was kidnapped by the Bureau seventeen years prior after an Altered World Event in their hometown of Ordinary, Jesse discovers that the Bureau's previous Director, Zachariah Trench, has apparently committed suicide.
