In the near future, the People's Republic of China uses space-launched EMP and neutron bombs in an attack that destroys the US military and kills half the country's population. In the aftermath, a young engineer flees from a Chinese patrol and is rescued by a recluse in the mountains of Montana. The engineer carries in her mind the designs for revolutionary advances in power and propulsion that will make it possible to build the first starships. Together, the engineer and the recluse build a device that taps into Zero Point Energy to produce unlimited power. Then, aided by an Air Force pilot and in a manner reminiscent of the Wright brothers' first flight 110 years before, they build and fly a prototype starship. After locating a company that was building new spaceships to be used with the engineer's stardrive, they find allies and begin a series of actions that save millions of lives on Earth, establish a secure base on Mars, and make possible the first journeys to the stars.