Ten centuries ago the Old Time ended when Earth's cities melted in the War of a Thousand Suns. Now the lethal high technology of the Amtrak Federation's underground stronghold is unleashed on Earth's other survivors - the surface-dwelling Mutes.

Survivors of Earth's nuclear war who have lived for years underground prepare to recapture the surface world from its ruling mutants

In the post-nuclear age of 2990 A.D. Steve Brickman, a pilot for the Amtrak Federation, is assigned to spy on the Iron Masters who are gaining control of an increasing amount of territory

THE AMTRAK WARS THE VISIONARY CHRONICLE OF THE ULTIMATE STRUGGLE TO RULE EARTH The epic narrative that began with CLOUD WARRIOR continues to unfold. On the snow-swept overground, Steve, Cadillac and Clearwater meet with triumph and disaster as they try to evade the clutches of both the Iron Masters and the First Family. The samurai of Ne-lssan prove to be tenacious adversaries and the rulers of the Federation have no intention of loosening their grip on Steve Brickman. For he and his friends are valuable pawns in a game which, if lost, could spell the end of the First Family’s dream of reconquering the blue-sky world.

THE VISIONARY CHRONICLE OF THE ULTIMATE STRUGGLE TO RULE EARTH With Clearwater now safely in their hands, the Federation hatches a plan to capture Cadillac and Mr Snow and annihilate the Clan McCall: a plan which forces Steve to continue his double role as loyal agent of the Federation and blood-brother to the Mutes. The First Family is hell-bent on exacting retribution for past defeats but the twice-bloodied House of Yama-Shita is also thirsting for vengeance. Both parties blindly pursue their own ends unaware that the outcome is governed not by force of arms but by the irrevocable power of prophecy.

As the "Great Mountain in the West speaks to the Sky with a Tongue of Flame", the Talisman Prophecy is on the verge of fulfillment. The rulers of the Lone Star Confederation are convinced that Clearwater's child - whose birth coincides to the second with the volcanic eruption - is the Thrice-Gifted One. And they hold both in their power. Cadillac and Steve's kin-sister, Roz, who have combined their formidable powers are determined to free her but Steve, lured by the prospect of a dazzling career within the First Family, is no longer certain who to support or betray. He has little time in which to decide for, in Ne-Issan, the land of the Iron Masters, a lone woman intent on avenging her dead lover is about to plunge her nation into a civil war that will set the whole continent ablaze