Shannon dreams of being a cinema verite type of reporter, but she needs an edge. With the help of a trust fund and a ham radio guru, she gets the help she needs, but at what price? Maxwell Burnham, known as Max Burner, is a rogue government operative, a monster who hunts "squawkers." He's also a runaway diabetic who uses his excess glucose to power his killer beam. Phi is an "Elmer," in the old tradition of ham radio. Can he help Shannon save more than 100,000 squawkers from a horrible death?