Louis Wu woke aflame with new life, under a coffin lid, autodoc displays glowing before his eyes. His life is due to run (again) from post-adolescence to eventual protector age - circumstances permitting . He re-emerges into tense captivity, held by the hyper-intelligent alien Tunesmith against a background of war and politics among interstellar races. The action is centred around the decaying Ringworld itself as it becomes increasingly fragile and in need of urgent redesign. Human problems also emerge as Louis Wu's personal life becomes increasingly complicated. Tunesmith is eventually driven to flee . Using the Quantum 2 hyper- drive to modify Ringworld, he moves it and himself elsewhere. This continuation of a truly compelling series answers existing questions, such as the origin of Ringworld, and poses new ones in a drama which will grab new and old fans alike.