The Consul plays his ancient piano on his private ship when Meina Gladstone, the CEO of the Hegemony (a political structure composed of the resident and governing bodies of new worlds) contacts him. She tells the Consul (formerly the Hegemony’s lead political appointee for the planet Hyperion) that the Church of the Shrike (a religion dedicated to a powerful entity named the Shrike) and the All Thing (a forum for Hegemony members that works through neural implants) have chosen him to be part of the final pilgrimage. It is the last pilgrimage, as the Time Tombs (six mysterious constructions on Hyperion) are showing signs of opening, and a rebel band of Ousters (genetically modified humans) are preparing an attack to invade Hyperion. The citizens of Hyperion are being evacuated, as not only will the impending interstellar war potentially kill multiple millions, but the terrifying Shrike has been killing people in areas of increasing distance from the Tombs.

One among the seven pilgrims is likely an agent of the Ousters. Gladstone tasks the Consul with finding out who the agent is and preventing the Time Tombs from opening or uncovering its secrets, and those of the Shrike, before they fall into enemy hands.