When two corpses turn up with the bar code of an escaped X-5, Lydecker's boss steps in to pay him an unexpected---and unpleasant---visit. Meanwhile, Max springs into action after realizing that her fellow fugitive may be behind the killings and that she is the only one who can bring his hunting season to a close.

It's a battle of the bio-synths as Max, Zack and Tinga's plan to stop Lydecker from snagging Tinga's son pits them against Madame X's newest weapon---a brainwashed Brin. But when a double-cross puts them all in danger, it becomes clear that someone at Manticore is keeping secrets about the future of the X-5 project.