The year is 2037 AD. Red: Mars is being colonized by the communist Chinese. White: The Moon is Russian, but now, just like great swathes of the Siberian steppe, no longer loyal to the Putinists in Moscow. And Blue: The US is leading a new western renaissance, free finally from the draining trials of the Third Gulf War and decades of economic malaise. The nation, optimistic and resurgent, plans to return to space. But it seems that space is not as empty as we have been led to believe. When the sky begins to burn, and not just on one world, we have to face the truth that our only possible allies are our all too human enemies