Book summary

In the 21st century, the responsibility for space exploration has moved into the hands of private enterprise, with promises of enormous rewards for the first people to land on--and return from--Mars. Racing both time and another group, funding from a billionaire gets a team of astronauts, lead by Julia Barth, on the planet's surface, but a damaged ship leaves them with no way to return. Forced to wait until the another mission can rescue them, Barth and the crew set out exploring the Martian surface and discover that they may not have been the first beings to arrive there after all.