[1][2] The first timeline takes place over two days, December 9-10th, 1012, and centers on two sisters and a brother (Ket, Ixul and Ajul) who are the last scions of a declining Mayan kingdom.

The more present-day timeline takes place over 6 days, December 16-21st, 2012, and centers on Leah Oliveri, a young woman from Anoong, Minnesota, who journeys to Belize to explore her roots.

They take her to the sacred cave, Actun Tunichil Muknal, deep in the jungle, where she discovers a connection to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld, and to the events of long ago.

The survivors establish a utopian, genderless, nomadic society with a religion, Laviaja, based on worship of Leah and the two brothers she encountered in her search in Belize.

[1] He further appreciates how Byrne "raises questions about identity, about gender and sexual preference, about the limits and constraints inherent in any true utopia, " adding that "(t)hese issues are explored with a great deal of wit, passion, and intelligence, but what stands out is the book’s attitude to the past", which Mond considers to be key to tying together the three timelines.