AXE Chief, David Hawk, suspects sabotage and sends Nick Carter, agent N-3, to investigate.
He was last seen in a high-end nightclub in West Palm Beach with NASA physician and prime suspect, Dr Joy Sun.
They also discover compromising photographs of Dr Sun with Reno Tree – former hitman for the Las Vegas mob and owner of the nightclub.
Hawk informs Carter that NASA is secretly preparing to launch a replacement mission (Phoenix One) in the next few days using the reserve crew.
The leader of the reserve crew, Colonel Glenn Eglund, has been seriously injured in an assassination attempt at Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston.
As the Phoenix One crew flies from Houston to Cape Canaveral for the launch, Carter confronts Dr Sun with the photograph.
Carter returns to the nightclub in West Palm Beach posing as conman and gambler, Mickey Elgar, looking for a high-stakes poker game.
Carter is beaten and awakens in the Riviera Beach home of Alex Simian – owner of NASA contractor, General Kinetic.
Simian needs General Kinetic to displace rival contractor Connelly and secure the US$20 billion Apollo program funding to refloat his holdings.
Simian has kidnapped the families of the Apollo program electronic guidance crew and held them captive in the General Kinetic medical center in Miami.