When three colleagues land on a mysterious planet, a fog-covered world filled with bizarre vegetation, foul smelling air, gigantic prehistoric beasts, and a strange, but intelligent race of club-wielding lizard-men, it soon becomes apparent to them from Earth that their safe return home was anything but guaranteed
Set aboard the Goddard, Captain "Steel-Wall" McCausland harbors a secret vision for a revitalized Earth while navigating the complexities of space. Reuter, a scientist, is entangled with dangerous experiments that threaten their mission, and Air Mate Longworth confronts a hidden terror that endangers countless lives. The story intertwines themes of ambition, betrayal, and the struggle for survival in the vastness of space.
Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life—Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Urras, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.