The second volume of the spectacular science fiction thriller evolving from the works of Arthur C. Clarke, the grandmaster of science fiction. Her code name is Sparta, whose beauty veils a mysterious past and abilities of superhuman dimension, - the product of advanced biotech engineering.

When a team of scientists is trapped in the gaseous inferno of Venus, Sparta must risk her life to save them, unaware that her actions will help recover a mysterious artifact: irrefutable evidence of life on another planet.