Murph lives on an ocean liner which has been set down in the corn fields of Kansas. He works as a security op and plays dangerous games in a virtual reality called Way Out. But Murph is lonely and wants to meet his online lover, Cat, in person. But who is Cat, exactly, and what secret is she keeping from Murph?

Author James Patrick Kelly is a two-time winner of the Hugo Award and has been nominated 10 times for the Nebula Award. His stories appear frequently in Asimov's Science Fiction, and he writes the magazine's "On the Net" column. Publishers Weekly has called him "a meticulous craftsman in the demanding short-story form".