Former astronaut Scott Blackstone's dream of opening outer space to visits from everyday people is under attack. His pilot program has been marred by a fatal accident, he's out of a job, and he's being sued for a billions dollars. And it's beginning to seem that the "accident" wasn't at all accidental.

Then the endless conflict between India and Pakistan heats up...and Pakistan explodes a nuclear device in the upper atmosphere, frying electronics on earth and in space, and putting the crew of the international Space Station at risk. With the Shuttle fleet grounded, only a secret skunkworks project known to Scott and his old friends can save the space station's stranded crew.

The Return is a tale about the kind of space adventure that could happen today--and that will happen tomorrow. As told by Buzz Aldrin, who's been there...and who's already helped change the world.

Dr. Buzz Aldrin was watched by the largest televi-sion audience in history as he and Neil Armstrong be-came the first humans to walk on the Moon. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and one of the world's best-known advocates for the exploration of outer space. He lives in Los Angeles.

John Barnes is the acclaimed author of Mother of Storms, A Million Open Doors, Finity, and many other novels. He lives in Gunnison, Colorado. Aldrin and Barnes have written one other novel together, Encounter with Tiber.