Alternate cover edition for isbn #978-1494720896.Jacob Young thought he knew exactly what he wanted in life, down to the last detail. He had finished his education, found the right girl, and was now just waiting on that ideal job that would launch him towards his perfectly-planned-out future. Instead, he awakes to find himself forced onto a different path - as a human conscript in an alien war - far from everything he knows and loves.Propelled into danger against his will, he will soon realize that his only choice - and that of his new comrades - is to rise to the occasion, to endure unimaginable difficulties and help each other beat the odds and make it home. Unbeknownst to Jacob, not only is he in a struggle for his life, but one that will impact humanity itself and the balance of his planet. Back on Earth, when a mass disappearance of people across the globe calls for governmental investigations it is quietly dismissed as an unsolved and strange coincidence, like the flocks of birds that drop dead from the sky. With so little information, even the 24-hour news cycle soon abandons its coverage. The only ones that appear unable to move on are the loved ones that the missing left behind. Luckily for Jacob, his family refuses to give up on him. In this survival story, science-fiction writer Patrick Locke transports us to new worlds and epic battles filled with unfair circumstances, tough decisions, fumbles and despair, victories and betrayal, courage and hope, but most of all heart.