内容简介：
Mark Free is not a happy man. His plans to become an astronaut have not worked out. Instead, he goes into business, a dangerous move given the times. He sits on the board at the museum where the private space hardware, bought" by the government after private enterprise in space had been outlawed, is kept. Mark's people refurbish a spacecraft and secret it to Mexico. After almost being caught on the ground in a raid, and nearly going mad on the long flight, Mark makes a survivable landing. It is a one way trip; he plans never to return. RUSPAC, which allows the US to send a few people to their space station, launches its own mission to Mars and plans to rescue the stranded American. Mark, however, has no desire to be rescued and no intent of being taken alive."