This extraordinary space opera is the fourth volume of the bestselling Children of Time series, featuring epic adventure, first contact, and the nature of intelligence among the stars.

After Earth fell, ark ships hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in Earth's forgotten past. A ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain is about to rediscover one such world, and an ark.

Then human crewmate Alis wakes to discover that she, her captain and the ship's intelligence are the only ones left on their ship.

But what happened to those who left to explore the ark ... and the world below?