Dr. Stan Mercer, a geologist, thought he had escaped from his past and found a perfect place on Bale-the coldest and most distant from the sun and one of the four planets of the Quad Consortium of Planets. Bale's harsh environment, the rugged outdoor life, and the sparse primitive native population were what he loved most. But, when Nathan Taylor was elected president of the Grand Council, the governing body of the Quad Consortium, things changed. Nathan Taylor believed that the minerals found on Bale suggested that a powerful energy source existed there-for him that meant money and power. Fleeing from murder attempts, Stan found his love interest in the presence of Dr. Elsa Longley, who was sent to Bale as Professor Anthony Eldon's assistant. Stan knew the real Nathan Taylor. He knew Nathan to be a dangerous man who wanted to be the sole "Supreme Ruler" of the Quad Consortium. Stan determined that he had to arouse the population and stop Nathan from creating a welfare state dependent on the government, dependent on him. Stopping Nathan means facing his past.