In 2031, researchers discover clear signs of biological activity in the signals from a robotic probe studying Saturn's moon Enceladus. Evidence of extraterrestrial life - a global sensation. Fifteen years later, a hastily built manned spacecraft embarks on a long journey to the ringed planet. The international crew faces not only a challenging twenty-seven months ahead: if they reach Enceladus without incident, they must penetrate the kilometer-thick ice shell of the moon with a drilling ship. For life can only exist at the bottom of the eternally dark salt ocean that formed billions of years ago within the moon's icy shell, say astrobiologists. However, shortly after the launch, a catastrophe makes a happy ending to the adventure highly unlikely. Enceladus is the beginning of a series of four novels about the ice moon.