It's 2043, and software engineer henry bell is on the verge of a breakthrough. his virtual-reality dating simulator, unity, is finally ready for beta testing. all he needs now is the right mage for the job. biomancer elijah johnstone is broke, his air conditioner has just given up the ghost, and it's too hot to sleep. when henry makes him a cash offer to try out his magic in unity's 3d landscape, he jumps at the chance, tries a simple spell... and ends up stuck in the computer simulation. trapped in a world of henry's design, elijah must rely on henry not only for human interaction, but for his lifeline to reality. they're not supposed to be on a real date, but they need to free elijah and save the program henry has bet his future on. the thing is, once they perfect the program and pull elijah out, henry won't need him anymore. after all, how can a love forged in a virtual world possibly be real?