In the twenty-second century, humans on Earth are trapped in an unending struggle to survive raging climate change, failed nations, disease, and cyber war. The United Peoples International Corporation has used its advanced technologies to try and save civilization but has achieved little success. It is now decided that human survival will best be served by embarking on a journey to the Alpha Centauri solar system. The first stop for their intergalactic spacecraft, the Crystal Ark, will be to support the trial terraforming of the planet Mars. However, the discovery of a journal belonging to the author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, reveals an astonishing Martian secret. Unraveling the secret will not only remove the barrier to interstellar time travel, but will also motivate saboteurs to alter the future of humanity while unwittingly resurrecting the dangers of the Martian past.