The year is 2053. Jerome "Romey" Powell leads a team of paleontologists to uncover a revolutionary find in the heart of Northern Africa... one that renews hope for the revival of dwindling bird populations globally. Meanwhile, Mitogen's cloning technology sows the seeds of de-extinction, ushering a revival of some of earth's most iconic megafauna.

Nearly a century later, far beneath the Saharan sands of Algeria, Lotta Eklund leads a team of physicists with the aim of uncovering the mysteries of our universe. Back at the surface, a trio of colossal domes form a proving ground for integrating self-sustaining ecosystems beyond our world. Veterinarian Camila Perez oversees one dome in particular called the ARC, an artificial preserve teeming with sub-Saharan biodiversity, including de-extinct species not seen for centuries and, in some cases, millennia.

These stories intertwine to trap humanity in a web of its own making, one that harbors some of the most efficient-and brutal-species to have ever existed. One that reveals that there are fates far worse than death.

A new era emerges that bends to no man or woman. An era brought on by the RIFT.