When the Ice Age gripped the world a lucky few thousand men and women retreated into the Enclaves, massive settlements built into mountains and subterranean caverns. As the blizzards raged and the ice caps advanced the rest of mankind perished. Thousands of years passed with the flame of civilisation kept alive by Little Sister, a massive Artificial Intelligence designed to nurture the survivors and pass on the cultural heritage of man. But now the great thaw is on the way and it is time to repopulate the world. For the descendants of the original lucky ones it is time to inherit the earth, and their freedom. Or so they think, for Little Sister has other plans. Plans that Kell and Shamra will discover, plans they must overturn.