In this sequel to Stone Fever, a year has passed since geologist Keltyn SparrowHawk, abandoned in post-glacial Antarctica by her crew-mates from Canada, survived a near-fatal bullet wound. Now, she tries to make a new life with the nomadic tribe that took her in, but clues point to mega-industrialist Sir Oscar Bailey readying a second mission to exploit the iridium treasure by Mt. Erebus. Sure that his plan spells disaster for her tribe, Keltyn must first inspire her Onwei friends Luz and Joaquin, her gaucho lover, and tribal leaders.

Back home, anthropologist Fay Del Canto begins an affair with Harry Ladou, to pry the crew chief away from Bailey's orbit. She knits together an umbrella group of environmentalists and endangered tribes, until a shadowy faction of eco-terrorists begins to strike across the Bailey empire.

The mogul dispatches his rising star Helmut Gans onto the second mission, and recruits Keltyn's estranged mentor Russell McCoy to fill her place. Keltyn must take drastic measures to counter him, at the cost of her own freedom.