"A cosmic catastrophe, the Ring of Fire strands the West Virginia town of Grantville in the middle of Europe during the Thirty Years War. By 1636, it's impact is felt across two great oceans. The United States of Europe seeks out resources (oil, rubber and even aluminum) to help it wage war against the foes of freedom. Daring pioneers cross the Atlantic and found a new colony in South Africa hoping with up-time knowledge to prosper in the tropics and avoid Indian and African Slavery. In the west, the wave of change has reached Japan and intrigued the Shogun. But learning what fate has in store for them, Japan pulls back from a policy of isolation to stake its own claim in the new world"--