A grief stricken captain embarks on his final mission in command of an ageing cargo ship. The ship's small crew, frustrated and discontented with their lives in deep space, try to complete a successful mission but the ship has ideas of it's own. Soon, an 'accident' onboard forces a diversion to Somnus, a derelict asteroid station in a forgotten sector of the solar system. They soon discover the colony is populated by a mysterious and sinister cult, hell-bent on dark plans for Earth. The crew's hope of sanctuary on Somnus soon turns to peril, as they fight for their own survival against the colonists, and humanity's ultimate fate. Terrifying truths about the end of life on Earth soon force the captain to face up to his personal torment leading to a climatic and exciting conclusion.

Before the United States entered World War I, young Americans went to France to be fighter pilots, joining the Lafayette Escadrille. This fictional version follows a laconic Texas rancher, an eager Nebraska kid, a Black boxer already in France, and a New York swell, as they arrive green for training, get their baptism by fire when German planes ambush them on their first mission, and graduate to heroics. Rawlings, the Texan, falls in love with a young woman he meets at a bordello. Keeping their eyes on them are Captain Thenault and Cassidy, the resident ace, who keeps a pet lion. Can the boys measure up?