In Antarctica, a glacial earthquake swallows up a team of scientists - and exposes a mysterious monument older than the Earth itself. In Peru, archaeologist Dr Conrad Yeats is apprehended by US Special Forces to unlock the final key to the origins of the human race. In Rome, the Pope summons environmental activist Dr Serena Serghetti to the Vatican - and reveals a terrifying vision of apocalyptic disaster. In space, a weather satellite reveals four massive storms forming around the South Pole - and three US spy satellites disappear from orbit. These are the end times, when the agendas of a lost civilization and the prophecies of the world's great religions lead a man and a woman to the shattering discovery that will change the face of humankind.