The year is 1963.

It is a time in history like no other. There are those who feel that they are standing on the dawn of a golden age while others feel that the threat of nuclear war will tear the nation apart. The fire of the Civil Rights Movement is beginning to blaze with men and women standing up against oppression at home even as a new fight looms ahead in Southeast Asia.

Against this backdrop of conflict and change, a man named Charles Xavier is searching for others of his kind.

Xavier sees the turmoil ahead. He believes that a war against mutants may soon be coming--he sees it in the reaction of Americans to the threat of the bomb and the fear of mutation. His friend, Erik Lehnsherr, argues that violence should be met with violence, that mutants should strike first and enslave those who would harm them. But Xavier is not a man quick to anger and instead, he is preparing a sanctuary for those who would band together for protection. It is not children that he seeks but men and women--in case the battle is brought to their front door.

As movements march on and wars erupt, Xavier’s dream turns from fantasy to necessity. Where will it lead mutantkind?