The last settlement of humans on Earth has a simple initiation to manhood: Enter the forest, find the hidden Earth Stone pyramid and return from the sacred relic with proof in hand. Fail, and be a soul marked to wander the endless desert wastes beyond the forest until death - an honorable sacrifice to the gods. Cheat, and the gods will know. Intrude inside the Earth Stone and, well - that's just not conceivable. As Horton trod deeper into the pyramid's dark, forbidden depths, he wondered how far the deception of his people went.