Born to wealt and privilege, Chet Kinsman has abandoned his family Quaker roots to become one of America's hottest Air Force astronauts. Kinsman is a schemer, a smug daredevil who embarrasses his superiors and believes that the world's ills cannot harm him. Until, in a secret orbital confrontation, Kinsman becomes the first to commit murder in space.
Shattered by guilt, Kinsman is grounded and barred from active duty. But Chet Kinsman is addicted to space, convinced that human survival depends on conquering this last frontier. Using all of the resources available to him, Kinsman embarks on a project to secure humanity's future - in a desperate gambit that will end in victory and peace...or execution for treason.