A thorium reactor appears on a primitive planet sparking an investigation by the first humans that visited a decade earlier.

SYNOPSIS:

Set in 2150, advances in current science provide a framework for the story of a team of astronauts who return to one of the first planets ever visited by humans. They discover a thorium nuclear reactor has appeared on a pre-industrial world which couldn't have been a natural progress of technology. Determined to discover who and why this happened, the team appears in disguise and secure employment at the new plant in their search for answers.

While navigating the difficulties of espionage on an alien world, the leader runs into an old acquaintance from their first visit. He is once again enamored with her, but she's now married to one of the his coworkers, an awkward situation for him at best. Before the team finds the answers they want, a terrorist bomb explodes on the reactor complex, putting the team leader in charge of the lives of dozens of people who work there, including the husband of the old acquaintance. Choosing meltdown verses his friend's life, he sentences his friend to an early death but the fire is extinguished, saving hundred of lives. .

Tasked with notifying the families, our human astronaut faces the wife and son of his friend with guilt and regret, but confident that he made the right choice. Befriending the son, they discover together one more facet of the thorium reactor beginnings: a third alien species. Startled, they return to the home, and the leader meets with his team to round up the last elements of the puzzle. Two alien worlds conspired to exploit the natural resources of the planet and became embroiled in a dispute, resulting in the bombing. The human team, the leader, and some government officials from the planet sit down with the two alien races and hammer out the difficulties.

Although the planet cannot return to a pre-industrial state of evolution, the reactor was no longer a secret or a fraud, and the society can progress from that point. Fascinated with the technology from Earth, the commander offers what he can to his friend's family: a chance to start a new life on Earth.