Project Ishtar -- a bold endeavor to terraform Venus, the most volatile planet in the solar system, and the grandest achievement in the spectacular career of famed terraformer Dr. Pascal Saadya. But when Saadya hits a snag in the project, he calls upon his old friend, Captain David Gold of the U.S.S. da Vinci.

Part of Saadya's team is a Bynar pair, 1011 and 1110, who are using their species' natural affinity for computers to increase efficiency. Saadya's hope is that they can join forces with the da Vinci's Bynar pair. But half of the Bynar pair assigned to the S.C.E. team on the da Vinci was killed months ago, leaving only Soloman -- a non-bonded Bynar who is now a pariah in their culture. Saadya finds himself confronted not only with a failing project, but with Bynar prejudice, as 1011 and 1110 treat Soloman with nothing but contempt.