Time Salvager

James Griffin-Mars is a convicted criminal and chronman in a future where Earth has become toxic and uninhabitable. Humanity has relocated to the outer solar system to survive. Time travel authorities have identified James as expendable and suited for chronman work—undertaking dangerous missions into Earth's past to recover resources without altering the timeline. Chronmen face strict laws governing time travel; violations result in death. The stress of repeated jumps through time causes many chronmen to break down before reaching old age, and James is nearing his limit. On what should be his final mission before retirement, James encounters Elise Kim, a scientist from a previous century who is destined to die in the destruction of an oceanic rig. James violates the chronmen's highest law by bringing Elise to the future, saving her life but making them both fugitives. To remain free, they must hide in Earth's poisoned wastelands, find allies, and search for any remaining hope for humanity's home world.