When a rogue comet collides with the Earth, setting the entire planet afire, there are few survivors. Among them are a submarine crew, an underground sanctuary of scientists, and scattered individuals. Those who do survive, by forethought or chance, rise from the ashes, continue to procreate, and their descendants find new ways to live, create new cultures, new societies, new theologies. In addition, an alien spore has arrived with the comet, and over the decades it grows and evolves into a new form of vegetation that develops a symbiotic relationship with a species of Earth. This relationship expands to become a formidable threat to mankind, even as the age-old clash between science and superstition, logic and faith, continues to divide humanity.
