Jacob T. Badgley has suddenly become an object of worship and obsession among the citizens of Zielaarde, a strange planet pent on keeping him forever. With no way of getting home, he is given only one option: act like the saviour that the planet's government expects him to be. In this world obsessed with the power of technology, the line between destructive and redeeming forces is blurred. It soon becomes apparent that a deadly ending for Zielaarde is dangerously close, and Jake finds himself in a desperate struggle to escape the fate of a world where ignorance is bliss. But perhaps his biggest struggle is coming to grips with the realization that Zielaarde might not be so foreign, after all.