Caidin's novel retells the story of Anthony "Buck" Rogers, a top pilot who is mortally wounded in a Fokker plane crash. Given zero chance of survival with modern-day medical methods, Rogers is placed into suspended animation at Cyberdyne Systems, in the hopes that at some point in the future new technologies will render his injuries survivable. Ultimately, as civilizations rise and fall, Rogers is kept in stasis for five centuries before he is discovered and revived.
As with the original Buck Rogers story, the pilot must adjust to life in the 25th century while also helping Earth battle various invaders. Along the way he falls in love with Wilma Deering, a top pilot in the Space Corps.
Bonus reprint
The first edition of the novel includes as a bonus a reprint of a 1933 children's book by Nowlan and Dick Calkins entitled Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, which was 32 pages long and in full color.[2]
