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BLACKWELL'S BOOK OF THE YEAR

«Mesmerising» - Sunday Times

«Magnificent» - Guardian

«Monumental» - The Telegraph

Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, drawn to the beach as an escape from her unhappy family life and her high-strung father. Enchanted by the underwater world of her childhood, she excels in marine biology, traveling the world to study ancient organisms. When a trench is discovered in the Atlantic Ocean, Leigh joins the exploration team, hoping to find evidence of Earth's earliest life forms - what she finds, however, challenges everything about our origins.

Her discovery takes Leigh to the Mojave Desert and an ambitious new space organization. Empowered by the organization's work, she learns that the Atlantic trench is just one of several connected phenomena from around the world, each piece linking to suggest a pattern beyond human comprehension. Leigh knows that to continue her work with the organization she must leave behind her declining mother and younger sister, facing an impossible choice: to stay with her family or embark on a journey across the breadth of the cosmos.

«Utterly compelling» - The Times, Books of the Year

«Profound and thrilling» - New Statesman, Books of the Year

«A far-reaching epic» - Financial Times, Books of the Year

Pages: 512, Dimensions: 12.8x12.8cm