After fighting off the shapeshifting Misaligned, Terri, Euclid and Quay have been settling into their new post-apocalyptic life–and then their ally Dirk and his father Archibald seek their help facing a new and greater threat to the world. The trio has to find an institute from before the apocalypse and its residents, the only people who might hold the key to stopping the next calamity. As they undertake a dangerous journey to the ruins of New York City, they encounter old enemies, the oddly familiar ruler of Providence, and strange creatures who offer each of them a dangerously tempting deal.