On a desolate island off the southern coast of Chile, an incredible discovery is made: a gigantic meteorite, the largest ever found, entombed in the earth for millions of years. Half a world away, billionaire entrepreneur Palmer Lloyd decides he must have it as the centerpiece of his grandiose new museum. He is willing to pay any price–in dollars and in lives. Getting it back to New York poses a particular challenge: It will be the heaviest object ever moved by humankind. Fueled by Lloyd’s money, an audacious expedition takes shape. Disguising a state-of-the-art ship as a rusted freighter, the expedition secretly heads southward with a fail-safe plan to steal the meteorite from Chile. Leading the group is an inscrutable engineer hired by Lloyd, and a world-famous meteorite hunter whose career was shattered by a controversial theory. Soon, along the icy rim of Antarctica, in the grip of a frozen hell, the adventurers are confronted with a terrifying enigma about the origin–and nature–of the meteorite. It is a mystery they must solve–if they are to escape with their lives.