The Voq are a harmless alien race on a small and insignificant planet. But the virus that’s now destroying them must be contained before it spreads to other worlds, especially to Earth. Dr. Roland Price has been summoned to space station Observer I to assess whether the eighty million Voq can be saved. If not, the military plan to annihilate the entire race before their disease harms anyone else. But could Price’s mother be right, as she remains on the infected planet to argue for the Voq’s survival? Is there any way to save them? And can Price live with his next decision if there isn’t?