Rach-el Orrin is a female humanoid alien from the planet Zonar, which is located in a twin star system of another galaxy. As a seasoned starship commander for her highly advanced race. She was selected to travel on a routine mission to Nitron (Earth). Her primary purpose was to secretly implant an advanced communications device in a remote uninhabited part of the planet. It will only activate when Nitron’s technology can detect and discovery it. Zonar’s peaceful intent at that future time will be to offer a friendly planetary relationship with no strings attached.
On missions to humanoid planets, Rach-el must undergo slight physical to accomplish her secondary purpose which is to further evaluate the inhabitants character (for virtues and defects) and their current global priorities and problems.
Shortly after arriving undetected on Nitron, Rach-el meets Dr. Paul Brandon, a Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist. Her alien origin is revealed unintentionally when she survived a serious auto accident because Paul witnessed her being healed by a small form of artificial intelligence which accompanies her at all times disguised as a piece of jewelry.
Ironically, Rach-el, with no plans to marry and raise a family on her home world, falls in love with Paul, as he does with her. He help in overcoming some unexpected problems and her mission is completed. Paul agrees to return to Zonar with her to marry.
After their arrival on Zonar, Zonarian intelligence discovers that Rach-el’s Nitronian Mission has been compromised by a government traitor, who has revealed her mission to the Wlixians, a humanoid race from the planet Wlixa.
Treacherous as ever and sensing an easy opportunity to eventually takeover an unsuspecting, inferior planet, the Wlixan leadership contacts Nitron’s leaders to warn them that Zonar has hostile intentions having implanted an undetected secret device.
Paul and Rach-el return to Nitron on a dangerous mission to try and meet with Nitronian leaders to convince them on Zonar’s friendly intentions, to explain the secret device, and most importantly, to warn them that Wlixa is Nitron’s real threat because of its history of slow, yet hostile, take over of other planets.
After arriving on Nitron, Paul gradually becomes ill. Rach-el realizes that Paul’s symptoms are similar to a poisoning she experienced by the Wlixians years earlier. She gives Paul her antidote without his knowledge. Rach-el knows it will save his life and at the same time, result in her death.
Just before her death, Rach-el is able to deliver her warning about Wlixa to the Nitron leaders. Paul and the Petemans, his best friends, leave Nitron with fatally ill Rach-el. Zonar is able to bring her back to life with an experimental procedure but with some side effects. One is the loss of memory over the last two years. This includes her Nitronian missions and her relationship with Paul.
Nitron decides Zonar is the threat, not Wlixa. Zonar has a policy of no interference with decisions of other planets. This means Nitron will soon be a deserted planet with only Paul and Petemans as the survivors. Paul finds himself on a an alien planet, in love with someone who doesn’t know him, while his home planet is about to die a slow death due to an alien takeover.
