Ten years ago, Reeve "Red" Wainwright walked on the moon. Mission commander on one of the early Apollo flights, he knew the exhileration of space, floating in zero G's, riding a rocket. He survived a terrifying accidental fire in the flight module to return a national hero. But what do you do after you've gone to the moon?Some astronauts suffered severe depression, some were born again, some retreated from the glare of publicity. Red Wainwright enjoyed his fame, drank too much and watched his marriage fall apart. In time, he put the pieces of his life back together and began a new career as an energy consultant. But when his book on the energy crisis becomes a best seller, he finds himself a celebrity all over again, and this time the price of fame becomes fatally high: his teenaged son, Chris, is kidnapped and held for ransom.In a grotesque parody of his father's flight, Chris is buried alive in a box with a limited life-support system, a space module underground.

While Chris struggles to find the courage to survive, Red is finally, joltingly, brought down to earth as he confronts the manipulations of politicians, publishers, reporters and even former astronauts in a frantic race against time to save his son's life.