The intertwined narratives that comprise the novel take place nearly 2,500 years from now, in the 'post-human' universe of 'The Ninth of Av.' On Earth, the eloi-like remnants of the 'old style' human race pursue painless, pointless existences, largely unaware of the history of their species, or of the nature and geography of the planet they inhabit. In Jupiter space, a pair of Moravecs -- partially organic robots with an affinity for Proust and Shakespeare -- agree to investigate a quantum anomaly recently discovered on the surface of Mars. And on the Plains of Ilium, a scholic named Thomas Hockenberry observes what appear to be the gods of the Greek pantheon -- Zeus, Ares, Apollo, Athena, and literally hundreds more -- as they preside over the bloody spectacle of the Trojan War, a once familiar conflict that will evolve -- and escalate -- in unexpected ways.