"West of January tells the story of a world where time moves very slowly. On the planet Vernier the sun creeps across the sky, returning to the same point every two hundred years. It takes a lifetime for each region of the planet to experience dawn, midday and dusk. The ramifications for the inhabitants are dramatic - entire civilizations have been scorched into oblivion, and every individual is forced to adapt to this harsh environment or face certain catastrophe." Enter Knobil, a young herdsman cast out of his tribe, sentenced to perish in this brutal landscape. Luckily, he is saved by "angels" - people trying to help the tortured planet by preserving past technologies. As Knobil travels across his world, he realizes he has been chosen for a special destiny.