The accidental transference of a pathogen harbored by the tentacles of sea worms living at the bottom of the Atlantic begins a series of seemingly random events that will disrupt the inhabits of the earth's surface. In this instance a giant sperm whale acts as the conduit. During a deep dive off the Azores he comes in contact with a sea vent warmed by magma flowing beneath the sea floor. In this harsh, alien place, strange forms of life survive and create organisms unknown to the globe's surface dwellers. And so begins dramatic events told through the lives of those directly involved from the beginning--destined to be impacted to the full extent by the bizarre events that follow.