Description
Written in 2014 the storyline involves an almost crystal ball view of Putin's growing aggression towards Ukraine. Mikhailya Groschev was born in the year 1952 in the Soviet Union controlled Ukraine. Her father is an Astrophysicist and a Cosmonaut, her Mother a successful doctor. Their family along with four other families is selected to participate in colonizing Mars at the time when America thinks it is winning the Space Race. A new Element is discovered on Mars that turns the mission and Mikhailya's life upside down. The mission fails as the Mars colony is rapidly falling apart, an immediate evacuation is ordered and lives turn upside down. Mikhailya's parents are cold-bloodily murdered and chaos ensues. Once the crew makes their return journey to Earth the next adventure begins. New characters are introduced and a chase across Europe from the Ukraine to Paris gets underway, the out of place Soviet teens must develop new allies while being weary of potential enemies. Due to the stabilizing properties of the limited amount of the new element they bring back to Earth, it becomes a highly sought after prize. There is espionage (NSA, KGB), kidnapping and a little romance too. Determined to keep what remains of her family whole, Mikhailya finds herself tackling adversity and overcoming odds that seem nearly insurmountable, just when she thinks they are getting ahead they fall back and need to regroup. The team gets separated and each group has their own hurdles to face as they adjust to the news of the USSR crumbling and nowhere to turn. Brother is pitted against brother, father against son and Mikhailya's family is caught in the middle. Mikhailya's life is forever changed on her final mission to reunite her family.
Prologue
