With the death of his space warfare veteran father, Bradley McLanahan must now fly solo, leading a team of engineers designing Starfire, the world's first orbiting solar power plant. Starfire will not only deliver unlimited electricity to anywhere on Earth, it can also transmit power to the moon and spacecraft. But U.S. president Kenneth Phoenix's plans to militarize and industrialize Earth's orbit sparks a terrifying arms race. Before he can prevent it, Bradley and his team are caught at the center of a battle that threatens to become all-out global war for control of space.

In the near future, the U.S., weakened by a massive military and economic downfall, finds its position as head of the global order threatened by an ever-more powerful China. Retired Air Force lieutenant-general Patrick McLanahan prepares to confront the inevitable clash between the two superpowers as they push each other towards destruction.