The South Pacific Islands, 14,000 years ago After terrible floods destroy their villages, some islanders turn to the strongest leader for answers, but others see the floods as a sign calling them to make a change. Escaping by night, they leave the world they knew behind and take to the open sea in a quest to find what lies beyond the edge of the world. Their journey into a realm still ruled by spirits changes all of them. Some give their life to the quest. Others find it along the way. The navigators, the lovers, the warriors, the inventors, the woman condemned as a witch, the puppeteer, the visionary, the day keeper - seventeen in all - must figure out how to make a new life in a new world.