In 2006 the world is about to be overwhelmed by a disaster that might destroy human civilisation the inversion of the Earth's magnetic field Deep in an Antarctic base, the FLIPback team is frantically devising a system to reverse the change in polarity Above them, the SS Elysium carries its jet-set passengers on the ultimate cruise On board is Ruby Duvall, a journalist sent to record the FLIPback moment Instead she finds a man called the Doctor, who is locked out of the strange green box he says is part of his time machine, and old enemies of the Doctor silver giants at work beneath the earth