When nuclear physicist Darwin Mueller solves one of the great challenges of space travel, he knows his daily routine of working at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and his evening routine of wasting hours with friends at a local brewpub is about to change. He has no idea the enemies he will create when he tries to pitch his idea to the powers that be. But Mueller is a survivor, discovering within himself a tenacity he didn't know he had. What he planned to give to the space effort for free now came with a price. Darwin wanted to go to Mars.