The gigantic starship Ark was launched on a voyage of ten thousand years from an Earth on the brink of collapse. The Prophetsy, a theocracy based on slavery and terror, has ruled over most of the Ark for longer than anyone now living can remember, and it has just succeeded in conquering the few remaining free regions of the ship.
Danil has been a slave since he was a young boy, but his spirit has never been broken, and his keen mind sees ways that the theocracy might be overthrown and envisions new weapons that could achieve that victory. Annaya is the daughter of the Prophet Polldor, undisputed ruler of the Prophetsy. To her father, she is only a pawn, to be married off to a powerful ally. But she is determined that will not happen, even if she has to somehow overthrow both her father and the Prophetsy itself. Olen, the Prophet's son, is anxious to become the next Prophet. He will cooperate in his sister's plans as long as he thinks they will lead to his assuming the throne and gaining absolute power, but he is a more dangerous ally than Annaya realizes.
Even if they restore freedom to their artificial world, can they discover the nature of that world, and regain the knowledge necessary for the successful completion of its mission?
The human race is running out of time on overcrowded Earth, and only one man has the courage to do what is necessary to save it. Colony ship Ark is the greatest project the human race will ever attempt, a self-contained world one hundred years in the building, launched on a ten thousand year voyage to carry the seeds of civilization to the stars. It is humanity's final gamble for escape from a desperate world, but the price of hope is measured in lives.
Joshua Crewe, Ark's designer. Obsessed with his vision, he's devoted his life to winning the power to turn it into reality. No burden is too great to bear in pursuit of his dream-especially when other people are the ones to bear it.
Aurora Brady, first of the space-born, with one foot in the future and one in the past. She must give power to her enemies to see Ark launched, but giving too much will mean its destruction.
Jedidiah Fourgere, a simple farm boy. He finds himself caught up in a revolution that will forever change the balance of power in Ark's hermetically sealed world. Torn between love and faith, humanity's future lies in his hands.