Mars Is A Desolate World. Largely Forgotten By Earth, The Planet Remains Helpless In The Stranglehold Of Arnie Kott, Who As Boss Of The Plumbers' Union Has A Monopoly Over The Vital Water Supply. Arnie Kott Is Obsessed By The Past; The Native Bleekmen, Poverty-stricken Wanderers, Can See Into The Future; While To Manfred, An Autistic Boy, Time Apparently Stops. When One Of The Colonists, Norbert Steiner, Commits Suicide, The Repercussions Are Startling And Bizarre.