Deep inside Antarctica lies a mystery. The forgotten pathway to the stars. Rejected scientist Alexander Hawke is down to his last chance. Brilliant but sheltered, every banker in New York has refused to finance his ideas. Enter the Russian—charming, dangerous, and offering an Antarctic expedition that promises answers to all of his questions. Now, Alexander stands at the edge of a bottomless chasm. With a helpful shove from his foreign benefactor, he plunges into adventure. Landing in darkness, Alexander finds a portal to destiny—weirder than New York, colder than Russia, and filled with the ruins of an empire that once spanned the galaxy. Armed with his wits, he’ll set forth on the journey of a lifetime, recruited by aliens for a civil war in which the good side is bad, the bad side is good, and somehow, Alexander ends up square in the middle. And his only way home is to save the world.