On the Colonial planet Orpheus lies the island of Hades, distinguished by a massive chasm named the Rift, an unexplored region feared by the island's inhabitants due to Article 27, an act of Church and State that states any person convicted of serious crime, suffering from a terminal illness or unable to support themselves financially, must be banished to the Rift. No one ever returns, their outcome unknown.
Public outrage grows when two innocent children, victims of a murderous conspiracy, are sent to their doom. Yielding to pressure, the world government approves a rescue attempt, and the terrible secrets uncovered by the expeditionary force reveal a threat to humanity's existence.
For fifteen-year-old Mara and her younger brother Job, the nightmare grows, their survival at stake as they fight to survive a menace that could unravel their sanity.