Ross Murdock

Ashe

Ashe is Ross's mentor and close ally, sharing a deep bond of trust and mutual respect through time-travel missions.

Kurt Vogel

Kurt Vogel is a dangerous enemy agent who repeatedly clashes with Ross in a high-stakes espionage conflict.

McNeil

McNeil is a fellow agent and comrade-in-arms who works alongside Ross on dangerous missions.

Judge Rawle

Judge Rawle is a senior official who oversees Ross's recruitment and assignments within the time-travel project.

Ennar

Ennar is a native of the ancient world who becomes a trusted friend and helper to Ross during his mission.

Major Kelgarries

Major Kelgarries is Ross's commanding officer, issuing orders and managing the time-travel operation.

Foscar

Foscar is a hostile native chieftain who opposes Ross and his allies, creating conflict in the prehistoric setting.

Tulka

Tulka is a native woman who befriends Ross and provides crucial assistance in the ancient world.

Assha

Assha is a native ally who aids Ross, showing loyalty and courage in the face of danger.

Ulffa

Ulffa is a native warrior who becomes a loyal companion to Ross during his time in the past.

Hardy

Hardy is a skeptical or antagonistic colleague who clashes with Ross over methods and authority.

Ashe

Ashe is Ross's mentor and close ally, sharing a deep bond of trust and mutual respect through time-travel missions.

I

The protagonist, a young criminal recruited for a secret project. He is observant, resourceful, and determined to maintain control despite being disoriented.

II

Observes the war game, explores the base, and discovers Hardy in the dark.

III

Ross is the protagonist, wary of Kurt but ultimately persuaded to escape the base. He fights Kurt in the snow cat and later cooperates with him to flee.

IV

Ross is given a second chance after his escape attempt, accepts the trial run to Bronze Age Britain, and undergoes intensive training.

V

Ross undergoes final checks for his Beaker trader disguise and travels with Ashe to Bronze Age Britain. He experiences the time transition and helps investigate the destroyed Outpost Gog.

VI

Hunts and cares for the injured Ashe; shows humility and growing competence.

VII

Captures Lal and frees McNeil; helps McNeil back to the cave; participates in the interrogation of Lal and the meeting with Cassca.

VIII

Undergoes rigorous training and parachutes into the Baltic region as part of the team.

IX

Ross helps build the shelter, scouts the forest, follows a trail into the taboo mountains, and is captured.

The Prisoner and the Strange Village

Captured and interrogated, maintains cover as Rossa, escapes and explores a strange facility.

XI

Endures a brutal forced march across ice, is left for dead in a crevasse, but escapes and discovers an alien structure where he is healed and his dual memories fully integrate.

XII

Captured and interrogated, then escapes to the alien ship's control cabin, where he tries to use the controls.

XIII

Weary and injured, Ross escapes the village, reunites with McNeil, and later is captured and imprisoned, then rescued by Ashe and McNeil.

XIV

Exhausted and injured, Ross works on the raft, falls into the river during a collision with a tree, and is separated from the group. He later listens to Ashe's alien theory.

XV

Alone and despairing after losing Ashe and McNeil, Ross is captured by a new tribe and forced to fight Ennar for his life.

XVI

Captured and bound by the horsemen, beaten but defiant, learns of the alien chief's reward for him.

XVII

Ross fights physical exhaustion and a psychic compulsion from the aliens as he travels through marshland to the sea. He later endures capture by the horsemen tribe and is tied to a funeral pyre, using his alien suit to survive the fire.

XVIII

Fights off an alien mental attack using pain and fire; later recovers at base and reaffirms his commitment to the project.