Astronaut Curt Lucas has lost his family, lost his faith and lost control of a sabotaged space station. Caught in a near-future world of Chinese hegemony and radical fundamentalism, Curt's unlikely return to earth marks the beginning of a desperate struggle for America's soul. The race to find a sacred vessel thought by some to offer eternal salvation, or a plunge toward Armageddon by others, leads Curt to alien worlds and beyond. His journey uncovers a secret order of Christian martyrs ready for the coming Rapture, an eccentric quantum physicist developing anti-gravity weapons and his own...