Based on the Peabody Award–winning podcast, this tech-filled adventure series pits intrepid Mars Patel and his outcast friends against a brilliant, enigmatic billionaire as they race to figure out why kids are disappearing from their school.

Mars Patel’s friend Aurora has disappeared! His teachers are clueless. His mom is stressed out about her jobs. But Mars refuses to give up—after all, his own dad disappeared when Mars was a toddler, before he and Ma moved to Puget Sound from India. Luckily, Mars has a group of loyal friends eager to help—smart Toothpick, strong and stylish JP, and maybe-telepathic Caddie. The clues seem to point toward eccentric tech genius (and Mars’s hero) Oliver Pruitt, whose popular podcast now seems to be commenting on their quest! But when the friends investigate Pruitt’s mysterious, elite school, nothing is as it seems—and anyone could be deceiving them. Slick science, corporate conspiracies, and an endearingly nerdy protagonist make this first book in the series a fresh, exciting sci-fi adventure.

Mars and his friends have escaped the Martian colony and returned to Earth, to find that all the adults have vanished! A thrilling sci-fi adventure based on Season 3 of the Peabody Award–winning podcast.

After Mars Patel fled the Martian colony and its erupting volcano, he headed for Earth with JP, Toothpick, Aurora, Cupcake (everyone’s favorite two-hundred-pound tardigrade), and genius billionaire Oliver Pruitt. But when they finally arrive, Mars is shocked to find that all the adults on Earth have mysteriously vanished. Aurora, the popular new principal of Pruitt Prep, thinks Earth is better off without the adults, while Mars, who’s now a celebrity, is desperate to find his mom. As tensions rise and new mysteries are revealed—including a secret lab, an impending election, and a wild new discovery on Mars—will Mars and his friends manage to unravel the truth? Or is Oliver Pruitt outplaying them all? A vibrant cast brings to life this tech-rich page-turner, based on the award-winning podcast.