The year is 2455. The Place is Old Earth. Once the shimmering blue jewel of the galaxy, Old Earth is now a contaminated planet abandoned for centuries--a brown world of violent storms, toxic landmasses and poisonous seas. Yet humans have returned to the deadly place that they once fled--not to live, but to research the ancient rusting artifacts of the bygone civilizations that caused this enormous environmental disaster. And when an eager group of intrepid young explorers land on Old Earth, little do they realize the grizzly fate that awaits them.