The origin of life remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of science. Is life a bizarre chemical accident, unique to the Earth's history? Or is it somehow written into the underlying laws of the universe, destined to emerge wherever conditions allow? Acclaimed scientist and science writer Paul Davies examines the very latest theories of biogenesis. Recent discoveries of bizarre 'living fossils' in the hot crust of the Earth, and possible traces of bacteria in a Martian meteorite, have forced a radical rethinking about the earliest living things. The Fifth Miracle reveals the remarkable new theories and discoveries that seem set to transform our understanding of life's role in the unfolding drama of the cosmos.