A deep sea oil mapping survey ship is sent to the Mariana Trench under dubious circumstances and encounters some shocking and unexplained data. Skip over to the perspective of the somehow alien yet human perspective of the emerging consciousness within the mysterious undersea vessel and we learn that the survey ship has likely made the find of the century. Very intriguing opening. The author does a superb job of hooking us in. However, I feel the suspense could have been accomplished without the cliché portrayal of the oil expedition boss who would rather destroy evidence than acknowledge something truly monumental being discovered on his watch.