Eight people take part in an ecological experiment in 1990s Arizona Inspired by real events The Terranauts places human behaviour under the microscope to spellbinding effect Linda is desperate to be one of the lucky eight chosen to take part in the world's most ambitious ecological experiment She knows that she can survive for two years under the glass dome of Ecosphere II set in the Arizona desert Competition is fierce between the hopefuls among them smooth-talking PR man Ramsay & Dawn a naive beauty Inside the humid microcosm the terranauts' labours over crops & livestock their battles with creepy crawlies their hostilities & sexual dalliances are all observed by tourists who come to gawp Mission Control's cameras & the watchful eye of the media As they struggle to control nature & hunger sets in the snake in this Eden starts to look unmistakably human