The Waters of Andros

On the distant water world of Andros, the children bond and play with the plesiosaurs in the great blue oceans, as children have done for centuries. Thirteen year-old Mikal Tarrant trains with his plesiosaur, Starfin, for the Festival games at which he seeks to prove himself to his friends, Dom, Rigel, and especially Tash. In a world dominated by the sometimes sinister presence of Tergal Industries Incorporated, Mikal yearns for independence and excitement. But something strange is happening to the planet's life-forms. The huge undersea kelp forests are dying, and with them is threatened the supply of Tergalium, the pharmaceutical which pervades all life on Andros, and which makes humans heal faster and live longer, and provides the wealth of the company and of Andros itself. As the planet s eco-system is disrupted, its life forms start behaving in unpredictable and menacing ways. Soon Mikal finds himself thrown into life-threatening situations as he struggles to understand what is happening. Gradually he uncovers a crime so vast that it threatens not just Mikal himself, but the entire ecology of the planet. It is a crime he must thwart with every ounce of his skill and courage, if he can survive.