A remarkable and intelligent coming-of-age story about the first human born on Mars. Twelve-year-old Marietta is the daughter of Andy and Kate, researchers and colonists at the Mars Base Colony. For fifteen years now the scientists have been living on Mars attempting to alter the atmosphere of the Red Planet to make it more conducive to human survival. But they lack water, and large-scale success has evaded them. It's now the year 2045 and Commander Ernesto Cardenas of the United Nations Aerospace Administration has just arrived with his wife and young son Ernie to audit the effort and decide whether or not to continue the work. The survival of the colony - and their immediate selves! - eventually comes down to the success of Marietta and Ernie as they take off on a wild, unauthorized exploration of a mysterious "pyramid" thought to hold the secret to life on Mars.