Gulliver Foyle, Mechanic's Mate 3rd Class, is the only survivor on his drifting, wrecked spaceship. He endures 170 days alone in deep space before being noticed by another space vessel, the Vorga. When the other ship ignores his distress flares and sails by, Gully Foyle becomes a man obsessed with revenge. After finding refuge with the forgotten Scientific People on the Sargasso Asteroid, he returns to Earth to track down the crew and owners of the Vorga. But, as he works out his murderous grudge, Gully Foyle begins to uncover a secret of momentous proportions...