At the end of the 21st century, a catastrophic accident in the asteroid belt has left two surveyors dead. There is no trace of their young son, Alex Manez, or of the asteroid itself.

On the outer edge of the solar system, the first manned mission to Pluto, led by the youngest female astronaut in NASA history, has led to an historic discovery: there is a marker left there by an alien race for humankind to find. We are not alone!

While studying the alien marker, it begins to react and, four hours later, the missing asteroid appears in a Plutonian orbit, along with young Alex Manez, who has developed some alarming side-effects from his exposure to the kinetic element they call Kinemet.

From the depths of a criminal empire based on Luna, an expatriate seizes the opportunity to wrest control of outer space, and takes swift action.

The secret to faster-than-light speed is up for grabs, and the race for interstellar space begins!

My name is Darcy Anderson, and I am cursed with a dark power: Whenever my life is in danger, something inside me summons elemental fire to protect me. I cannot control this.

One night, I was attacked in my home. The fire ... it raged out of control. I survived the inferno, but my house burned to the ground - with my parents inside.

I was at a loss to explain to the courts what happened, and so they sent me to prison for ten years for manslaughter.

Now I'm out on parole, and all I want is to return to my home town and rebuild my life; but the man who attacked me is back to finish the job he started.

I can sense the power in me growing. If I can't control it, it will control me and destroy everything - and everyone - I love.