“The Neanderthals Are Back: The Beginning” is the first of a series of stories about the life of Neanderthals growing up in modern society after two scientists bring them back with the help of surrogate mothers.

This book focuses on the story of the first six Neanderthal babies as they grow up. At first they are raised in the lab in secret and taught by a nursery school teacher. When the children are five and six, the scientists place them with the owners of a group home for children with disabilities.

The stories follow the Neanderthal children as they grow up, go to school, have relationships with other children, go through their teenage years, and start working in unskilled jobs in their early 20’s.  Along the way they face many challenges, including bullying, romances with humans, and a strike for better working conditions. 

Some even participate in experiments where they get a genius pill that makes them suddenly smart for a while.  Meanwhile, scientists in other areas of the country bring back other Neanderthal kids.

The Beginning features the six children’s first years of being born, growing up in the lab, and being introduced to their group home. We also get to know the kids who have very different personalities — from being a leader to being very friendly and social or being quiet and shy.

Then, when one boy goes exploring, this leads to a series of events, resulting in the media discovering the Neanderthals, leading to the question: “What do we do now?”