Set in the latter half of the 21st century, the book chronicles the lives of a group of ordinary people from childhood to the brink of events with catastrophic effects in the offing.Enchanted by Mars as a frontier of human endeavor, the group enlist on a one-way voyage to the red planet to join the tiny human colony already there. Just as the New World of the Americas promised unlimited opportunities, so too the vanguard stood to open the floodgates to another world.En route, chance intrudes with fateful consequences. As humanity struggles under dire climate conditions, the harsh reality of the interstellar void, just beyond our protective atmosphere and indifferent to consequences, unleashes a stark reminder of our fragility.Swept up in events that have far-reaching outcomes on the course of history and the trajectory of human destiny, the group contend with diametrically opposing forces pitted against each other. Our future stands in balance as the universe gives up one of its secrets....