How did we get here? That is the question that drives each friend, each foe, and every strand of the stories woven together in this book. From an unusually intelligent infant, to individuals wrongly accused or imprisoned, to insiders who know things they wish they didn't and outsiders determined to bulldoze their way into the action, dozens of small decisions and huge risks pile on top of one another, contributing to the creation of a future that will change everything. War. Ambition. Family. Betrayal. As every character hurtles us ever-faster forward, one truth becomes inescapable: Even the end of the world was once the beginning of someone's story.