Synopsis: The planet at first appeared to be a duplicate of old Mars as Burroughs had portrayed it - Barsoom come to life. But the desperate expeditioners from Earth soon found out otherwise. The red "Martians", the flying boats, the warring cities, and the canal network were all parts of an ancient and well-established civilization. This did not stop the little human colony from dreaming of conquest. It still seemed possible. Only now it would take cunning diplomacy and the preparation of a few Earth weapons to make themselves masters of that world. (from the back cover of the first edition)