Once again, winter descends mid-September. Crops have failed, store shelves are barren, and hyperinflation ravages the economy. Riots grip the cities. Civil rights are gone, swept away by a terrified government teetering on the verge of collapse. Internationally, China threatens war with Russia over a disputed region of Siberia.
Two researchers and a Russian spy uncover a tattered journal in the Smithsonian. It tells of a long-forgotten expedition to a cave filled with ancient Egyptian relics in the Grand Canyon. And a prophecy: The time of troubles will soon return.
Astronauts on a secret mission to a wayward asteroid discover that an alien base buried deep beneath its surface is causing Earth's freakish weather. A grisly mechanical plague has massacred its inhabitants, making metal of their flesh.
And the asteroid is headed for Earth.
The salvation of mankind depends on solving an ancient, cryptic riddle.
