For Jason and Marius, the word "exciting" doesn't exist in their world. They seek to travel to Old Earth to see what the world looked like before ice covered most of it and before the sun had grown pale. The elders remind the two time travelers that no one has attempted this journey in the last 500 years; the last group never returned. Even though this trip to the twenty-first century is wrought with danger, Jason, Marius and six others of Heliotrope's brilliant souls travel to this strange world of contrasts, grim realities, fantastic happenings, and far more magic than in their own idealistic Heliotrope. After their arrival in Old Earth, members leave the group to pursue their own lives and their own interests-facing an array of challenges and triumphs-as Jason, a disembodied spirit, tells their stories. The centuries of living in Old Earth have not left them without the pain of love and life. Before returning to Heliotrope in time for the Light Festival, the eight friends must cast off their emotional scars. The centuries have passed quickly, and in Paris they must solve their dilemmas before their return.