Hancock has virtually cornered the market in this kind of speculative writing, and his reputation as the New Age answer to David Attenborough is well earned. Much of the ancient world inherited by our ancestors now lies under water after melting ice caps flooded vast areas at the end of the last Ice Age. New advances in geology and marine technology mean that the great archaeological finds of this coming century will more than likely be found under the oceans. It now looks likely that large populations of early humans were obliterated from the historical record by this catastrophe over 10,000 years ago. But who were these populations: hunter-gatherers or more sophisticated peoples? Hancock applies his customary imaginative speculation on a quest to find some of the answers.

Graham Hancock has been hailed as 'the New Age answer to David Attenbourough' by the Observer and 'the Indiana Jones of alternative archeology' by the Sunday Times. His bestsellers include Heaven's Mirror, Fingerprints of the Gods and The Sign and The Seal. He lives in Devon.

Part 1 Initiation: relics; the riddle of the antediluvian cities; meltdown. Part 2 India (1): forgotten cities, ancient texts and an Indian Atlantis; pilgrimage to India; the place of the ship's descent; lost India; the demon on the mountain and the rebirth of civilization. Part 3 India (2): fairytale kingdom; the mystery of the red hill; the quest for Kumari Kandam; the hidden years; pyramid islands; ghosts in the water. Part 4 Malta: smoke and fire in Malta; cave of bones; the thorn in the flesh; the masque of the green book; inundation; the morning of the world. Part 5 Ancient maps: terra incognita; the secret memories of maps; looking for the lost on the road to nowhere; the metamorphoses of Antilia. Part 6 Japan, Taiwan, China: the land beloved of the gods; remembrance; confronting Yonaguni; maps of Japan and Taiwan 13,000 years ago?; confronting Kerama; the shark at the gate; postscript - the underworld in the Gulf of Cambay.