With his academic future on the line, renegade paleontologist Quinn McCauley needs a major scientific breakthrough. And the artificat he uncovers at a minor Montana dig site seems to be just that - its unusual features and markins point to a world-shaking revelation by no less than Galileo himself. Then an unexpected betrayal and a near-lethal explosion prove Quinn has gotten too close to a perilous truth... As Quinn and fellow paleontologist Katrina Alpert race to piece together clues shrouded by time - and sinsiter desing - their every move puts them up against enemies with secrets as relentless as their reach. And each new answer pulls them deeper into a vicious world of sanctioned lies, where their most exciting discovery could cost them their very lives.