Earth was stagnating from a lack of resources, from corrupt governmentsthat stayed in power by keeping their people in ignorance and poverty, and bythe established power structures that stifled the creative technologies thatcould solve the planet's problems. But the governments and powerstructures didn't yet control space, where bold new techniques couldfreely be applied and the vast resources of the solar system could be utilizedby such courageous men and women as:

* Aneas MacKenzie--he hadbelieved in the man he had helped to reach the office of the presidency of theUnited States, and had tirelessly rooted out corruption wherever he found it,until the trail led straight back to the White House. After that, no place onEarth was safe for him.

* Laurie Jo Hansen--she controlled amulti-national corporation more powerful than many governments. Unlike thosegovernments, she wanted to see Earth's problems solved and reaching thehigh frontier was the only way to do that.

* Kevin Senecal--he hadmade the mistake of fighting back against a juvenile gang, and accidentallykilling one of them while escaping. Both the gang and the law were after him,and on all of Earth there was no place to hide.

* EllenMacMillan--a young employee of the Hansen Corporation who fascinated Kevin,she was on a secret mission, and the biggest secret was her real name.