Helen Kane may not be the best mother in the world, but she is one of the world's best astronauts and when, at fifty-three, she's offered a chance to train for the first crewed mission to Mars, she doesn't hesitate.

She and her fellow astronauts Sergei and Yoshihiro will be confined in a desert facility, striving to prove themselves, while outside their loved ones - Helen's actress daughter, Sergei's teenage son, and Yoshi's lonely businesswoman wife Madoka - pursue complex explorations of their own. All six will find themselves confronting the bonds of love and loyalty, sacrifice and desire. Station Eleven meets We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves in this brilliantly witty and inventive novel of ambition, endeavour and family.