Hawkes never wanted the assignment on Mars. Yet when the Martian mining colonies threatened a revolution that would have left Earth starved of resources, he accepted that he was probably the only man who could handle the job. Now, with the corrupt rule of big business broken, and Hawkes himself in place as prime minister of Mars, the planet named for the god of war seems on its way to a peaceful future. But the Martian miners are inexperienced at freedom, and can be manipulated by people adroit at arranging "facts" to create false impressions - politicians such as Michael Carri, Earth's Senate majority leader, a sworn enemy to Hawkes. Carri had encouraged the revolution on Mars, after which, he hoped, the miners would have been so thoroughly crushed that Earth could have looked forward to years of virtual slave labor. He was not pleased when Hawkes brokered a peaceful solution, or when papers were signed that promised the miners improved conditions and a share in the profits of their labor. Assassination attempts have already shown Benton Hawkes that the road ahead is not to be as smooth as he hoped, but he is prepared to take all the steps necessary to see that the people of Mars live free at last.

After defeating the dreaded Hunnza fleet, Jim Endicott wants a "normal" life. But his wish is not to be, for a new and even more terrible conflict is stirring. Earth's former ally, the Alba Packlord, suspects that humans are about to "Leap"--transcend to another level of existence in a process that will sweep away star systems, laying waste to the universe. To eliminate the human threat, the Packlord has made a secret alliance with the Hunnza--but not if the mysterious immortal known as the Outsider can stop them using Jim as a weapon. First, though, the Outsider has to find his embittered hero. Distraught over the death of his father, Jim has plunged deep into the underground, where danger of another kind lurks in the shape of a girl as bad as she is irresistible. But the Packlord will stop at nothing to succeed, including assassination. Jim's only hope for survival lies in making the Leap himself: taking the step into chaos that will save humankind or turn the universe into a graveyard of burned-out stars.