Mackenzie Flynn spent his whole life dreaming about becoming an astronaut, just like his father. He gets his wish, when he wakes up one day to find himself on the Space Shuttle Frontier; already on its way out of orbit. Unfortunately, Mack is horrified to find he is the lone crew member aboard. Something terrible has happened back on Earth, leaving him feeling lost and confused. With the ship's AI program 'Bill' as his sole companion, Mack has ten days to decide whether or not to continue with their mission - Project Red Son - to begin terraforming Mars. If he chooses go ahead with the mission, he does so knowing it will ultimately be an exercise in futility. If he doesn't, he resigns himself to floating through the emptiness of space until he either runs out of supplies or forfeits the remainder of his sanity. While Mack struggles to make a decision, he reflects back on the questionable choices he's made throughout his life. The more he remembers, the more it appears his odyssey started with a traumatic event from his childhood, and the loss of his first love. Events which shaped him, for good or bad, into the man he has become. Can Bill's evolving intelligence help guide Mackenzie to the 'right' decision, or will the last man alive take the easy way out? Only one man can make the choice, and it will be the hardest of his life.