Solstice, June 2008. Matthew Bolger, Chicago student, is scuba diving in Lake Titicaca, Peru, searching for sunken Inca cities. He faints, goes into a coma and for months imagines himself living the colourful life of the 16th century Incas in Middle Earth until the High Priest wants to sacrifice him to the Sun God., p> Solstice, December 2012. In 2012, Matthew now 16, by chance discovers that a girl is imprisoned in the ancient Crystal Skull of the Mayans. He and his spiritualist History teacher steal the Skull and take it to Machu Pichu, Peru, where a Shaman offers to free the girl in exchange for the Skull. A female Shaman helps free the girl without giving the Skull to the Shaman. In revenge, the Shamans kidnap Matthew's mother and hide her in Tibet. The adventurers get into Lhasa illegally, and with the help of anti-Chinese Tibetan nationalists, help Matthew's mother escape. They think they have saved the world by preventing the Skull falling into the hands of Shamans from the constellation Orion, but female Shamans from the Andromeda constellation intervene. They kidnap the wife of the Canadian man who helped free Matthew's mother. The action moves to Korea to free the Canadian woman and retrieve the Skull. The actions are fast and the description of the background is dazzling in Peru, Tibet and Korea. Days before the 'end of the world', as the Mayans predicted, the Skull disappears from its secure repository at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington.