Aboard a long-range research vessel, in the vast reaches of the South Pacific, the cast and crew of the reality show Sealife believe they have found a ratings bonanza. For a director dying for drama, a distress call from Henders IslandÑa mere blip on any radarÑmight be just the ticket. Until the first scientist sets foot on HendersÑand the ultimate test of survival begins.

For when they reach the islandÕs shores, the scientists are utterly unprepared for what they findÑcreatures unlike any ever recorded in natural history. This is not a lost world frozen in time; this is Earth as it might have looked after evolving on a separate path for half a billion yearsÑa fragment of a lost continent, with an ecosystem that could topple ours like a house of cards.