In Earth year 2200, twelve-year-old Steve Merrit lives in a cold, barren Mars with his parents and twin sister. The windows of his community apartment do not open to the poisonous Martian air, but Steve is able to enjoy watching young trees grow along the Marineris Valley. The northern Martian factories produce not only metal furniture, but methane gasses to form a thicker Martian atmosphere that will keep water from vaporizing into space. Giant mirrors are melting the northern arctic snows as they direct sun beams onto the North Pole. In the past, this put more liquid water onto Mars. Martians hope the mirrors will again fill the Kasei River, more permanently this time. The crash of a comet pushes the melting of Mars into a faster frenzy that causes new problems. Uprooted from their home in the Marineris Valley, Steve's family and their neighbors flee to other cities on Mars.

Pat Davis lives with her family in St. Louis, Missouri, where she taught in the primary grades. An amateur astronomer, Pat has a great interest in the exploration of the solar system. She has written six adventure stories about future kids on Mars.