An apelike creature frozen in arctic ice for tens of thousands of years, and a reclusive philosopher nearly 100 years old, set the stage for Tom Swift's latest astounding adventure. While perfecting his quantum telesphere, the realization of the dream of making transport instantaneous by shrinking space to a pinpoint, Tom is contacted by the team of scientists who have uncovered the giant Gigans in an Alaska ice cave. The theft of a tissue sample from the strangely preserved body alerts Tom to the threat of determined foes whose motives are unexplained. A scientific clue leads Tom and his friend Bud Barclay to London and danger from the dwarfish figure who shadows them. Undeterred by fire, sabotage, and kidnapping, Tom works to perfect his telesphere to free the ice giant without destroying it. But there is a terrible cost — Bud is lost in quantum protospace!