The number of zeroes on the Babel Corporation's contract has Emmett Atwater boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family-- forever. But it turns out he's one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden-- a planet that Babel has kept hidden. There they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe. Emmett has a choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won't forever compromise what it means to be human.