18 year old Paul, his mother and his sister land on Altair-4, a recently
established human colony. They expect to be reunited with Paul's father
there and start a new life, but he doesn't show up to welcome them at
the spaceport... Later, they are rescued from a gang of thugs by a
Stepanerk, a member of a sentient alien species. An encounter that will
prove invaluable to Paul when he decides to go and look for his
father...