Five years into the future, five Odyssey astronauts and a NASA technician are setting up NASA's latest high tech satellite just outside of Earth's orbit. The five are: Chuck Taggart - a charismatic authoritative and stoic mission commander and former ace pilot, Kurt Mendel - a likable pompous horny quip-prone British science author and NASA's special celebrity guest on the flight who actually does know a lot about science and can be brave and cunning despite claiming otherwise, Neil Taggart - Chuck's young adult son and genuine computer expert, Sarah Forbes - a popular news anchor and TV reporter who's there to make an exclusive piece about the mission, and Angela Perry - Chuck's experienced co-pilot who's father is a powerful senator. Everything is going fine until the Earth is suddenly caught on fire and then implodes for no apparent reason. This horrifying mysterious event damages the crew's shuttle, which leads to the death of the technician and also leaves Angela badly hurt and ...