Publisher's Synopsis
"EARTH IS EARTH AND SPACE IS SPACE." To be precise, New Earth and Near Space. In this innovative new science fiction novel, the Home Planet's multitudinous billions and the solar system's mere five millions are on the brink of war. At stake is the threatened completion of the revolutionary Glifford Transfer - a ladder to the stars that will allow the ruthless military cabal that controls New Earth to crush the 'Runners' of Near Space once and for all. From Rhonda Fleming, the brilliant, brittle but flawed Spacer-turned-politician, to Guardian Two, the ruthlessly ambitious Second Man in the Federation; from Derek Glifford, Rhonda's enigmatic lover and brilliant space designer, to his brother Robert, a fanatical Federation zealot; from the ailing Hal Fernandez, seemingly determined on a peaceful solution at any price, to the sycophantic Gratitude Three, humanity is now locked in a life-or-death struggle from which only one side can emerge victorious.
