In the aftermath of the cosmic near-miss, fortuitous but not without dire consequences, humanity struggles in adjusting to new extreme, vicious climatic conditions while battling the normal tendencies of the Species to destroy one another. With Nature challenging the drive for survival - growing food, generating power - along with human jealousies, ancient hatreds, and plain old "Bad Luck", the odds continue to stack against the self-proclaimed "Creature Supremo" of the planet. Continuing with the saga begun in "The Distant Flutter of Wings", good and evil again grapple for dominance. In the background, but fully present, is the planet itself, the continued recipient of a recent cosmic body-blow followed by grievous wounds inflicted by its own inhabitants. Like a heavy-weight prize-fighter pummeled by a devastating series of brutal combination blows, Earth staggers. Meanwhile, humanity continues to ignore the simple truth: If Earth goes "down for the count", so do we Wise men continue to scramble for sanity, reason, and survival of the species. Fools continue to do foolish (but typical) acts. And Dame Life continues to laugh, doubled-up, half-choking-out: "Stop it You're killing me "