From the first pioneers who looked back at Earth and saw a small blue star, to the first colonists - hand-picked scientists with the skills necessary to create life from cold desert - 'Red Mars' is the story of a new genesis. It is also the story of how Man must struggle against his own self-destructive mechanisms to achieve his dreams; before he even sets foot on the red planet, factions are forming, tensions are rising and violence is brewing - for civilization can be very uncivilized.