Professor James Holdt comes into possession of a parchment encoding the entire life of a man spanning hundreds of years. Unlocking the record reveals a hidden race of beings called Markens who evolved on earth millions of years before humans. Holdt reveals his findings to longtime friend and student Sarc Rostant who is fascinated by the professor's discovery of this evolutionary oversight. Soon, both are on the run from these advanced, seemingly invincible beings. The professor decides that the only way to escape their clutches is to initiate the offensive, but that would mean infiltrating the Marken capital city. Their flight takes them to South America where the heart of the Marken civilization exists. Along the way Sarc's classmate Salia and the professor's brother Dragan get involved in the mission, but the foursome are in for a surprise, as many alarming truths lay hidden deep in the Marken city.

Reproduction of the original: Darwin, and after Darwin by George John Romanes

"A review of astronomy" (varies).