In this the third book in the Orbits Series, the intrepid crew of the Excelsior travels to Mars in search of crewmen Rosalind's long lost husband. Their desperate search is interrupted by a stop at the beautifully designed deep space station Pegasus, where communist dissident LiMing rejoins the crew to assist in their fight and flight from the communist menace. On Pegasus, Rosalind undergoes a religious experience but then must desperately escape from the bowels of the most fearsome warship of the Chinese Space Force - the Xi Jinping after gaining intelligence of her husband's whereabouts. The battle ensues when Captain Thomas Major guides his beloved Excelsior into a trojan asteroid field where he must match wits with a Red Dragon interceptor fighter hunting Rosalind's husband. The final battle culminates at Mars where Captain Major executes the most daring maneuver to directly confront the warship Xi Jinping. The battle over, Rosalind finds what she has been seeking since joining Excelsior. She comes to realize the meaning of her fond memories, and realizes she has found a new home on Excelsior.

A trilogy of the Orbits Series thus completed, the crew is ready for a new set of adventures to begin.