When a disaster on a trash-processing satellite maroons an garbageman on the dumping planet Heap, he gets wrapped up in a conspiracy of covert military research, runaway superintelligent industrial complexes, and reality-bending "living" environments hidden in the planet's interior.

Set in the 23rd century Middle East, the physical and virtual have merged into one hypnotically suggestive reality called The Layer in revolt has been made literally unthinkable.