Astral Crisis

The Rangers claim that during the previous night, two interns, John Tharp, a summer hire at the Lowell Observatory and Carol Owens, NAU junior whose family runs a mortuary, climbed to the top of the Elden lookout tower and are now missing. Maria assembles a search team and the hunt gets underway with discovery of a severed female finger, a rescue team member's body and John's burnt-out car.

When North Korean agents are spotted in the wilderness, the Sheriff consults CIA liaison, Richard Lee and learns that an old reconnaissance satellite is about to return to earth carrying images of the USS Pueblo boarding back in 1968. If those pictures show that the seizure took place within international waters, reparations totaling $2.3 billion may finally be awarded to the crew. If not, North Korean President Kim vows a hail of missiles headed our way. . Time is running out. With only three days left before impact, the spacecraft has become unstable. Flagstaff is now within the target zone and claims of extraterrestrial sightings are spreading like wildfire.