Eight people take part in an ecological experiment in 1990s Arizona. Inspired by real events, The Terranauts places human behaviour, utopian visions and individual motives under the microscope to spellbinding effect. It is a darkly comic, acutely insightful story of human behaviour, animal instincts, idealism and ambition. This is T. C. Boyle at his acerbic, pitch-perfect best.