Description:

The Ringworld, with its vast resources and technology so advanced that no species has yet unravelled its secrets, has disappeared from Known Space. And no spacefaring species knows why -- or isn't saying. Lous Wu, Sigmund Ausfaller and other humans must contend with the ferocious Pak and the new spacefaring species the Gw'oth while trying to work with the devious Puppeteers to find and restore the Ringworld. Meanwhile, the Puppeteers, involved in their own internecene political struggles, must rely on a self-aware AI named Proteus to manage their own defenses. And Proteus is developing its own agenda... The fifth novel in the Niven/Lerner series thatBooklist praised for its "exceptional freshness and suspense...full of startling revelations about human and Puppeteer politics."