From the publsiher
The Earth of the not-too-distant future is a dying world—overcrowded, polluted; its resources are almost exhausted; its people grow sickly. Then, at the eleventh hour, an amazing scientific breakthrough makes possible the impossible—escape to the stars! The stampede to leave—to open up new worlds and found new civilizations creates a heady delirium for most. But What of Earth? Those left behind must build a life for themselves out of the shambles of their world...or die.