A war is coming, a battle that will stretch from the deepest trenches under the sea to the rocky craters of the moon, in New York Times best-selling author James Rollins' groundbreaking masterpiece of ingenuity and intrigue that spans 50,000 years in human history to mankind's next great leap - but will it mark a new chapter in our development or our extinction?

A series of strange events throws the world into turmoil. As a manned Chinese rocket explodes upon launch, three American astronauts, each separated by thousands of miles, are murdered. Then an archaeologist in Croatia uncovers a new cavern system that reveals elaborate primitive paintings by a tribe of Neanderthals. The artwork, painted in blood, illustrates an immense battle between the Neanderthals - joined by Homo sapiens - and frightening shadowy figures. Who is the ancient enemy depicted, and what does it mean?

The search for answers will take Commander Gray Pierce of Sigma Force 50,000 years back in time. As he and Sigma trace the evolution of human intelligence back to its true source, they will be plunged into a war for the future of humanity that stretches across the globe - and beyond.

From ancient tunnels in Ecuador that span the breadth of South America to a millennia-old necropolis holding the bones of our ancestors, from the lost archives tied to the sunken continent of Atlantis to the first moon landing, Sigma embarks on its most harrowing journey ever - and faces off against its greatest threat: an ancient evil resurrected by modern genetic science, strong enough to bring about the end of man's dominance on this planet. Only this time Sigma will falter - and the world we know will change forever.