 The last book in the tetralogy of "Planet of Adventure", it tells of the efforts to return to Earth by the sole survivor of a human starship destroyed while investigating a mysterious signal from the distant planet Tschai.After many false starts and real tribulations, Adam Reith has nearly finished building a spaceship to take him home.He and his two trusted companions had been betrayed by Aila Woudiver, the underworld kingpin who had provided the necessary men and equipment in return for an extortionate amount of money.