'Lust, murder, no future - life on another world.' Two hundred years after colonising Mars, army officer Paul Shroeder discovers Martian rebels stealing weapons. His bosses ignore his warning that they will soon strike- the consequences are just too awful to imagine. But for Paul and his friends, they become reality one fateful summer night. 'He was now a Major, not a Brigadier. He felt determined that the army would not break him, and his face turned demonic with fury as he threw the jacket in the wardrobe. No, they would not break him, his superiors were in on it, preparing the way for the enemy to seize power and send the real army packing. Twice he had warned them, and his reward was demotion. They would not believe him, except for the clique of nattering women next door. Sneering like a rabid animal, he reached up to his shoulder and tore the epaulette from his shirt. He had made the sign, and now there could be only death and destruction.'