When the first human mission to Mars is devastated by a meteoroid strike, the spacecraft's survivors struggle against impossible odds while decision-makers on Earth confront bureaucratic political forces.

It is time to start the colonizing the solar system. Ex-astronaut, current space advisor, and all-out trouble shooter for the President, Jake Ross, is determined to make it happen. And what better way to return to America's glory than by returning to the moon and setting up a permanent moon-base which can then serve as the launching pad for Mars and beyond. But as usual, political intrigue and conflicting priorities are threatening the whole program....