DARK MATTER tells the story of Jason Dessen. A brilliant physicist, Dessen has settled into a comfortable life in Chicago with his wife, Daniela, and their teenage son, Charlie. Jason is happy with his position teaching at the local university, but he does sometimes wonder what could have been if he had continued to pursue the research he began early on in his career. It’s that thought that’s circulating through his mind as Jason walks home late one night—and just before his world abruptly comes to a halt. A man wearing a mask is in front of him, pointing a gun and demanding Jason get into his car. He’s taken to an abandoned warehouse, knocked unconscious, and awakens in a world where his life seems radically different from the one he knew. In this place, Jason’s never been married. He’s never had children. His work has been his life—and, as Jason will learn, he’s achieved something he never even dreamed possible. But how did he get here? What happened to his old life? Can he find his way back to the wife and son who’ve been taken from him? His search for answers leads him on a journey far stranger than anything he could have imagined—and puts him in the crosshairs of a seemingly unbeatable foe.