Book excerpt: Dix Jenner, a self-proclaimed slacker, is the first chef to live--and maybe die--on Mars. After an explosion kills his colony companions and leaves him with nothing but his spacesuit, his time on the faraway planet is about to expire...until he's rescued by friendly Martians and opens a cafe--who knew Martians loved espresso? Unfortunately, his success attracts the attention of the corrupt and narcissistic Martian Grand Leader. Forced to run to avoid being imprisoned, Dix gets lucky: a NASA rescue mission lands on Mars. But seeing it brings back the dark secret he's been keeping from himself about the colony's explosion, and now Dix must choose between returning to Earth or spending the rest of his life in a cell on the dusty red planet where he belongs.