When a "situation" occurs, people begin climbing into special glass boxes that allow them to pass through time without aging in hopes they will wake when the "situation" is over. Young Sigrun wakes early and finds a world overrun by nature. She joins a group of wild kids and their leader, Grace, who tells them a story of a king who wanted to save his daughter from pain and suffering so he enclosed her in a glass coffin so time wouldn't touch her. The princess, however, learns that sabotaging time will have lasting consequences, and unwittingly unleashes a curse on the future. Sigrun and the others realize it's up to them to break the curse, end the "situation," and restore civilization.
General Note
"Title of original Icelandic edition: Tímakistan"--Title page verso.