What would a truly visionary presidential figure look and sound like in a world in which miracles really can happen? One willing to speak in a way that no “real” political figure would dare? A candidate destined to become a modern Beowulf tested not only by the present, but also by the ancient, geologic past?

As winter turns to spring, Tuscaloosa, Alabama is overrun by a thick fog, bizarre thunder storms, and a string of astonishing murders. In parallel, Dan Morgan, an expert in cognitive disorders, faces the gravest ordeal of his life as he campaigns to become Alabama’s next governor. He not only has an uphill battle against a popular, local good-old-boy, but discovers that he must also contend with a time of legend stretching back to ancient Eocene seas. Yet even as he struggles against a trio of monsters – a giant bird, a snarly toothed sea serpent, and a murderous but conflicted Neanderthal – Dan Morgan comes to realize that his greatest challenges still lie in this world with its fractured intimacies and divisive politics.