They thought Mars was a dead place until... 'You have come from Earth on a mission. A mission that is to determine the future of human enterprise on Mars ... On this new world the slate will be wiped clean and ready to accept the message of Christ, though that message may have to be written in fire ' That was The General's message to his followers. The message of a man who, through secret political and commercial backing on Earth was set to exploit the planet and with its profits fulfil a hidden agenda - to establish his new kingdom whatever the cost in human life. But the life forms that had existed there for so long unknown had very different ideas. When their secret domains were threatened they at last spoke to Brett, the only man who would listen. The only man who would act. 'We are of this planet ... we are of the realms beneath the deserts, beneath the mountains and the canyons. If humans strike into our world, we will pass through space-time beyond the realms you know and cause great changes within your world. We will re-awaken the ancient volcanoes. We will stir the furnace beneath Olympus. We will open the gates of Ascraeus, Pavonis and Arsia. The darkness of the volcanoes will fall upon this world as it did in the distant beginning. The sun will not rise. The biodomes that sustain your lives will die. For humans there will be no dawn.' As I sat there I knew damn well they meant it. It was why they had shown me the vision. Through them I had witnessed our day of judgement Brett holds the key to the survival of humanity on Mars. As disaster and death visit the colonies, as danger closes in upon himself and Karin, his female companion, this becomes a race for life against a determined and fanatical man - and the native beings who await the outcome. This drama unfolds in space and amidst the vast mountains and canyons of the Red Planet.