In 4562, Christian Brandon, a successful 35 year old physician, leaves his comfortable home and with his ten year old daughter, Gwen, emigrates to distant Kerry, the only planet on record to have destroyed itself with a no-holds-barred nuclear war 1500 years earlier. Chris feels certain the preapocalyptic ruins hold the secret to the missing home planet of man, the home that is clearly indicated by the early languages and customs yet is no where to be found. Christian's convictions are based on anomalies in both the galaxy itself and the pattern of man's 4500 year galactic history. He senses a connection with the Word, the visionary founder of the Sapphire Way, who was present at the preapocalyptic colonization of Kerry. The quest for answers has an odd pattern of its own, and over Christian's lifetime involve interplanetary war and the apparently impossible faster than light star drive.