Life in the Homeland is relentless routine, official religion, and brutal arctic temperatures. Created by a ring of nuclear-powered refrigeration plants the abysmal cold is engineered to keep at bay catastrophic storms engulfing the planet. People must stick to a rigid system to conserve the energy needed for their rigged climate. For this last remnant of humanity only hi-tech visions of heavenly wellbeing can possibly motivate or offer comfort. Two students, Cal and Poll, attend the Sector Training Center, preparing for tasks essential to the Homeland's day-to-day working. While Cal tries to tune out her world as best she can, Poll continually questions standard doctrine, believing the explanations students are given just don't add up. He is drawn instinctively to the mysterious young woman, feeling there is something special about her and only with her help is there a possibility of real answers. When finally Cal agrees to talk she is quickly brought to a personal awakening of her own, seeing the world around her in a dizzyingly new way. Everything is turned upside down. After this there is no looking back. It is now Cal's readiness to push against the confines of her reality, both physical and spiritual, that becomes the engine driving the duo forward. In opposition to officialdom of the old order, and with the odds stacked against them, the young people make a dramatic discovery, but it is only the beginning. As events unfold and challenge them at every turn, Cal and Poll develop into fascinating characters, each in their own right. But their journeys and destinies remain intertwined, until they make the most extraordinary discovery of all. An astonishing new revelation of what being human on the planet might really mean