In 1986, Edward Grainger meets some old colleagues from his intelligence days, and each of them has a story to tell. Guy Oliver tells of a time when he worked in surveillance in Hong Kong in 1975. A strange woman and man entered the computer room, and the woman began playing a game on it. The man explained that his friend Mel was forced to play a game against the Rainbow, an intergalactic gaming cartel. At stake was the 20th century — if Mel lost, the cartel would take Earth out of time and sell its technological development. With her friend's help, Mel not only defeated the cartel but sent their identities to the authorities.