For five years the four, two men and two women had trained together for the first manned flight to Mars. An over-burn of its rockets due to sabotage during departure dooms the Mars mission and leaves the Explorer and crew no choice but look for a new planet or asteroid to colonize. That's what the US military and intelligence agencies wanted everyone on Earth to think. In truth, the Explorer is on a dual mission, one to prepare a venue for colonization and the other a militarized mission to test a new device in space. They will not be returning after they find what they are seeking. The question is, "Will they live long enough to perform their mission or reach their destination?"