In the fall of 2012, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, embarked on a series of high-energy experiments. No one knows exactly what went wrong, but in the blink of an eye, thousands of possible universes all condensed into a single reality. . . .

Between a desert and a dried-up sea lies the town of Watering Hole, the only oasis for miles and the home of our intrepid heroes Shaani and Xoota. After some rather harrowing adventures in the desert, they are followed home by a swarm of empathic earwigs. As if a psychic bug infestation weren’t enough, the town’s water supply has suddenly evaporated. Where there was once fresh water to spare, there is now only a trickle of brackish sludge.

Theorizing that the water came from a source beyond the desert, Shaani proposes an expedition to replenish the town’s water supply. Xoota, of course, is named to go with her. Crossing the desert has never been done—and with water in short supply, the task seems impossible. But the ever-helpful Shanni appeals to the town patron Benek, and his love of cryogenically frozen brides, to back the project. What follows is the adventure of a thousand lifetimes.