In 1965, a truck driver and exotic pet dealer from New Jersey decided that he could join an elite group of men who had been to the final frontier - space. Although an avid parachutist and free fall skydiver, he had no formal training in aeronautics, and no college degree. With barely enough income to make ends meet for his growing family, he set out to take a balloon into the atmosphere and jump out at 123,500 feet, setting a world record as he free fell back to Earth. At the height of the Cold War and the Space Race, Nick Piantanida would launch the first civilian space program. His young wife Janice would stand by him as he risked his life to achieve a dream that had become an obsession. A force of nature, Nick's willpower and charisma would get him into space with the dream of turning him into what he always aspired to be: a true American hero. This lofty goal would ultimately lead to his tragic end. This is the story of a man who fell madly in love with dream of jumping from the edge of space- and the woman who was madly in love with him.
