Sixty-five million years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, there lived a small mammal, a proto-primate of the species Purgotorius. From this humble beginning, Baxter traces the human image forward through time. The adventure that unfolds is a gripping odyssey governed by chance and competition, a perilous journey to an uncertain destination along a route beset by sudden and catastrophic upheavals. It is a route that ends for most species, in stagnation or extinction. Why should humanity escape this fate?A generation from today, a group of concerned scientists - distant descendants of that primitive Purgotorius - gathers on a remote island to discuss that very question. The ceaseless expansion of human civilization has triggered an urgent environmental crisis that must be solved now, if the Earth is to survive as a hospitable place for human life. But just when a peaceful solution seems within reach, two acts of shocking violence set in motion a cataclysmic chain of events that will expose the limitations of human intellect and adaptability in the face of the blind and implacable processes of Darwin's dangerous idea. Read Less