Life on Earth was nearly eradicated in World War III, but using alien technology, the Patriarch of the Church of the Resurrection built a new society from the ashes. He created what he called the Constructed Reality MMORPG, Primacy Online, a world so real that the players could not distinguish it from reality. After outlawing wars between the city-states on Earth, he declared that all wars would be fought inside the world of Primacy Online.

Thirteen hundred years later, the release of Primacy Online VI: Legacy of Balor signals the beginning of World War IX. Players from Earth's city-states will be locked in cryogenic capsules and play Primacy Online in War Mode. Their achievements in the game will determine the victory rankings of their city-states, but if they die in the game, they will die for real.

Patrick Armagh found flaws in the game mechanics of Primacy Online and exploited them to rise to the peak of the game. But when the Church declared he was cheating, he was perma-banned from the game. Now, the Church has declared that Patrick and all the other perma-banned cheaters will be included in a special Church group for World War IX, where they can earn redemption for their sin of cheating. However, Morgan Danan, Speaker of the City of Mann, and the generally acknowledged number one player of Primacy Online, has a deal for Patrick. With her help and his method of cheating, he has the chance to become a virtual god within Primacy Online, but by taking up her offer, he will become an enemy of the Church.

Like a significant percentage of Primacy Online players, Patrick suffers from an ultimately fatal, degenerative nervous system disorder. He has less than five years to live. With death staring him in the face and nothing to live for, he accepts Morgan Danan's offer, and once again, enters Primacy Online as Crom Cruach, a disgraced legend.

Will Crom Cruach, once again, become a legend, or will he be destroyed by the Church?

What secrets has the Church hidden inside the game?