Battered and burned from their engagement with the savage insectoid Stalkers, the CalEx strike team is now fractured into three parts, all lost in the Underneath: Brandon Samples, alone and suffocating; Stef, half-blinded, her group ravaged by the conflict in the Crystal Cathedral; and the remnants of Capt. Lamb's unit, captured and herded by more Stalkers than anyone can fight. At the end of their quest: actual demonic gargoyles, the overlords of the Underneath! They're not only in charge - but they already know how to speak English!