In the year 2040, Earth is nearly unrecognizable. Shifting plate tectonics cause violent worldwide earthquakes, pollution is out of control, governments are weak, and terrorists run rampant.

A group of concerned scientists launches Operation SAW (Settle Another World) and sends Captain Benjamin Cooper and his crew into space. They hope to find a new planet-a place to relocate all mankind, and start again.

Back on Earth, a strange new power is emerging. Reverend Buck McHagen started out as a small-town Baptist minister, but supernatural powers of an unknown origin allow him to wield unimaginable influence. McHagen is determined to prove that only he holds the key to humanity's salvation. As his power grows, he insists that all nations conform to his strict religious codes.

A worldwide schism, as strong and definitive as the earthquakes that rock Earth's surface, divides people into two groups: those who support Operation SAW and those who put their faith in McHagen. As parts of the Middle East collapse into underground voids left by excessive oil pumping, the ensuing havoc reinvigorates Muslim extremists.

Humanity is in desperate straits. Their collective fate lies either in deep space or in the hands of a madman.