The withdrawal of Earth's 5th army from the face of the Red Planet offers few answers to rumors of legends of past empires, myths of a race of Vikings, and a greatness now lost in history. Confounding the Sergeant Major organizing the retreat from desert strongholds is the General's adjutant - a quixotic character who quotes Ecclesiastes, and hints he knows more than he’s letting on. Only as the beleaguered battalion leaves Mars to go back to Earth does the truth of it all come clear.