Walker's book is set in the context of renegotiating the Antarctic Treaty (whether this is the first renegotiation or a subsequent renegotiation is left ambiguous). Tanaka, a Japanese multi-national, diversified company has an interest in the treaty and hires Edges to help them package their position.

Edges is a company made up of five friends. The company is the ultimate in PR firms: they use virtual reality to test and create elaborate presentations that convey exactly what the client wants or needs, often in surprising and contradictory ways. They go beyond this, suggesting words that their clients should use (or avoid) in casual conversations to reinforce this message. The VR aspects of the novel are breathtaking, going beyond game and integrating deeply in everyday life.

The book does have some problems. Antarctica is merely a backdrop for the story -- it could be set in any sufficiently dangerous locale that was hard to reach (the Himalayas, near an exploding volcano, under the ocean, the Sahara desert, to mention only a few). I was disappointed in that aspect -- the book appealed to me because it was set in Antarctica. However, I thought it was good anyway. I liked the details about Edges, the VR and the relationships among the five friends who run Edges. As with most TOR novels, it is full of gratuitous sex, but at least some of it serves to illustrate how powerful Edges VR is.