From North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East; from the 14th and 3rd centuries B.C., from the 10th, 16th, 18th and 19th centuries A.D.; spouses, enemies, friends, strangers - twelve of them are rescued from certain death on earth to become the first families of Verdura. Joshua and Marie Duncan are sent ahead to find each couple as they enter Verdura; to lead them to where they will begin their new lives together. But people have their own ideas, their own desires. Sometimes they work for the common good. Sometimes they work against one another. And they mess up. You see, sometimes commands are for a reason. Sometimes there are enemies. Sometimes people need to listen. And if they don't, they often can't undo the consequences. They lack the power, the knowledge, the means, to undo the evil they've caused. Someone else must undo it. But can it be undone? By whom? At what cost? Will Verdura end before it begins?