Hunters of Dune and the concluding volume, Sandworms of Dune, bring together the great story lines and beloved characters in Frank Herbert's classic Dune universe, ranging from the time of the Butlerian Jihad to the original Dune series and beyond. Based directly on Frank Herbert's final outline, Capterhouse Dune, which lay hidden in a safe-deposit box for a decade, these two volumes will finally answer the urgent questions Dune fans have been debating for two decades.
At the end of Chapterhouse: Dune -- Frank Herbert's final novel -- a ship carrying the ghola of Duncan Idaho, Sheeana (a young woman who can control sandworms), and a crew of various refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from the monstrous Honored Matres, dark counterparts to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. The nearly invincible Honored Matres have swarmed into the known universe, driven from their home by a terrifying, mysterious Enemy.
The first main plotline follows the adventures of the passengers of this no-ship. The second plot involves Murbella's attempts to unite the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres, while conquering rebellious factions of Honored Matres on various planets and attempting to prepare for a confrontation with an Ancient Enemy. This unknown enemy was responsible for driving the Honored Matres back into the Old Empire.
For several years, the no-ship (named the Ithaca by its passengers) has been in an alternate universe, carrying the gholas of Duncan Idaho and the famous military commander Miles Teg as well as the Bene Gesserit Sheeana, who has the mysterious power to control sandworms. Other passengers include the last Bene Tleilax Master Scytale, some Bene Gesserits, a group of Jews saved from Honored Matre oppression on the planet Gammu, and seven small sandworms that can produce spice. Finally, there are four captive Futars, fierce half-man/half-cat creatures bred to hunt Honored Matres. The mysterious Oracle of Time speaks to Duncan and brings the no-ship back into the 'regular' universe. However, it is soon discovered by the "old man" and "old woman" Daniel and Marty, first mentioned at the end of Chapterhouse Dune, who have unknown designs on the Ithaca and its passengers. The no-ship is nearly caught in their tachyon net, but escapes using the space-folding Holtzman engines.
Meanwhile, Murbella is trying to prevent civil war on Chapterhouse, the only known source of melange ('the spice') left in the universe (other than the sandworms on the no-ship). She meets an emissary sent by the Spacing Guild, which is desperate for spice. Murbella refuses their requests due to the help the Guild gave to the Honored Matres, and demands the Guild's future loyalty, threatening to cut them off completely. Unbeknownst to the Guild delegation and the rest of the universe, the sandworms on Chapterhouse are not yet producing much melange; the Bene Gesserit are making it seem so, using their own stockpiles. Later, Murbella stops a brutal fight between some polarized Bene Gesserits and Honored Matres.
Though the Honored Matres had destroyed all Bene Tleilax worlds, their descendents (the Lost Tleilaxu) have returned from The Scattering. Supposedly under their complete control are their improved Face Dancers, creatures who can mimic other humans exactly and go undetected by all known means. It is soon revealed that the Face Dancers have their own will and motives, as they kill the Tleilaxu Elder Burah and replace him with their own duplicate. They have now replaced all the Lost Tleilaxu Elders, as well as countless humans on various planets in the Old Empire. Their leader Khrone sends the scribe Uxtal (presumably the highest-ranking, if only, Lost Teliaxu left alive) to serve the renegade Honored Matre leader Hellica, who has proclaimed herself Matre Superior and now rules the conquered Bene Tleilax homeworld, Tleilax.
