A fantasy of the future and of the past for the present. The people of Orelia are a gentle, intelligent and curious race. One of their scientists, Dr. Jerren Darl, discovers signs of what he believes is a vanished but once highly developed culture on a distant planet, XE 110. More exacting inspection proves his theories correct. Jerren heads expeditions to perform detailed studies and then guide full archeological excavations. The effort brings Jerren in contact with ghosts from his past, unknowns of the future and Reina Dorens, a love he thought was gone and forgotten. Jerren's life on XE 110 brings him even closer to his past, to the future of XE 110, of Orelia, of himself, and a pattern for life for all times.