The west end of Mariner Valley on Mars seemed a perfect location for the established colony. It was close to a volcanic area riddled with caverns and mysterious underground lakes where warmth and water promised the possibility of life. Jim Harrison, former employee at Area 51 and his friend Steve Martinez arrive with science colleagues to continue further exploration of the planet's deeper levels. Beneath the surface domes a talented crew works for the survival and expansion of the colony. Controller Lewis Marshall and his wife Edna run a peaceful and prosperous settlement with a multi-ethnic community and a few biological secrets. Dr. Sarah Cohen, a new arrival from New York, makes a startling discovery that accelerates progress in understanding the reality of previous inhabitants of Mars. When extra-terrestrial intervention occurs the whole community is awakened to some startling possibilities and a few challenges to orthodox thinking. Earth has created some hybrid children possessed of extra-sensory powers and politics, of course, plays its part in the equation. With a planet of powerful winds and constant radiation, colonists face a hostile and deadly environment that is probably one of Mankind's greatest challenges. Deputy Controller Tom McDonald and chief miner Greg Gustafson lead a pioneering team beneath the red planet where extraordinary events reveal the dark and horrific history of a doomed civilization.