In this book, Richard W. Bulliet focuses on three major phases in the evolution of the wheel and their relationship to the needs and ambitions of human society. He begins in 4000 B.C.E. with the first wheels affixed to axles. He then follows with the innovation of wheels turning independently on their axles and concludes five thousand years later with the caster, a single rotating and pivoting wheel. Bulliet's most interesting finding is that a simple desire to move things from place to place did not drive the wheel's development. If that were the case, the wheel could have been invented at any time almost anywhere in the world. By dividing the history of this technology into three conceptual phases and focusing on the specific men, women, and societies that brought it about, Bulliet expands the social, economic, and political significance of a tool we only partially understand. He underscores the role of gender, combat, and competition in the design and manufacture of wheels, adding vivid imagery to illustrate each stage of their development.

Hobart Fenn, desperately wanting to leave the artificial satellite that is his home, has been secretly working to prepare a ship that will take him to the home of his ancestors, Earth. To those living on The Wheel Earth is no longer habitable, having been ravaged by a deadly experimental virus that killed off all human life on the planet. Fenn doubts this and is determined to find out for himself. His efforts to find the truth lead him in a struggle against the evil, dictatorial rulers of The Wheel. In so doing he finds his destiny, that of attempting to unite two very different cultures. His adventures bring him, and his new friends, surprises and dangers that he could not possibly have envisaged.