In the near future, multinat conglomerates plunder the solar system for raw materials to sell to increasingly hostile governments. The intense competition for resources further out into the solar system results in the establishment of an asteroid-ore processing plant on the dwarf planet of Ceres, run by robots and clones, controlled by humans. Most asteroids are mined from inside the solar system, but any asteroids tracked from outside the solar system are very desirable due to the possibility of new substances being discovered. One such asteroid is discovered by the spaceship Artemis and Captain Clarissa "Riss" Kragen.

To the disappointment of the Artemis crew, the rock is ultimately judged as comprising mostly ice and inert materials, with only some trace substances and no valuable minerals. They turn a chunk of it into drinking water for their own use and send the rest to the burgeoning Mars colony for further processing. Unknown to the crewmembers, the ice contains undetectable alien genetic material from outside the solar system. Before long, the crewmembers begin to hear voices, to experience other dimensionalities, and to learn more about the nature of the universe than they were prepared to. Their internal conflicts and new understanding of reality lead them to establish a new community on Mars, where the conflict sunders the Awakened from the Terrans who refuse to participate. Mars is reborn, and humanity will never be the same…