The action of the story describes the first human visit to an alien inhabited planet (Zeta) in human history. Life on this planet thrives, but no civilizations have been found. Most of the participants are specialists in different fields of knowledge, but their goals do not coincide in everything. Some of them are primarily exploratory, while others have goals shrouded in mystery. But the most unusual of them is the popular environmental activist Kurt Edwards, who is there as a "UN special envoy" to protect nature from the rest of the mission members. At the same time, he is a dense sectarian, and he is part of the mission because of the corruption intrigues of politicians. The confrontation between him and some other members of the team will lead to grandiose consequences that will radically affect the fate of the mission participants, and at the same time the fate of the planet Zeya.