Rogue geologist Keltyn Sparrowhawk continues her search for the strategic metal iridium in 24th-century Antarctica. In a Canadian jail, charged with murdering her former mentor, she bargains her way out at a dear cost, starting an epic journey via China, then back to the Erebus volcano and her friends Joaquin Beltran and Luz Hogarth. These teens have since forged their own careers, fused from the melting pot of the annual Rendezvous. Meanwhile, activist Fay Del Campo, sprung from detention, vows to fight Sir Oscar Bailey's domination of world commerce, even if it means joining forces with a shadowy group of saboteurs. Bailey's storm trooper Helmut Ganz plots to stop her. Only one of them will survive, and Erebus, the dark mountain god, will have the final say.