Joan wants to propel her ship many lightyears to travel to a new star. She goes to this new star in search of more information and discovery about the lost and deceased nation. Joan calls her friend Anne and discusses the logistics of the trip and their homeworld of Noudah. Anne departs in her own ship while Joan continues.

At first she tries to enter the system of Tira, but they reject her, believing her to be a spy for their rivals--Ghahar. Joan goes to Ghahar and they welcome her. She is examined by those who live there, notably an individual named Pirit. She explains that she flew from Baneth and he is confused about how she got to Ghahar as it is many lightyears away. She refuses to tell him and explains that she is interested in joining with the Ghahari archaeologists to explore the Niah population that died out many years ago.

She meets Sando, the senior archaeologists, as well as Rali and Surat. They tell her about these tablets of written communication the Niah used to have. They are able to find a mathematical theorem that Joan is able to read. She explains that it isn't like a mythical result the Niah wanted--which she nicknamed The Big Crunch--but it was still an important finding.

When the return, she briefs a mathematician that Pirit assigns to her, about the mission. Joan and the archaeologists share a meal together and talk about the success of their mission. Her friends explain that the Niah are not Spreaders as they don't colonize the areas around them. They still do not know why the Niah died.

One night, Joan hears an intruder in her home. She knows it isn't Sando because she knows the sound of his heartbeat. The intruder demands to know how she traveled such a far distance while also threatening Sando with blades. She explains her procedure and the intruder is tackled by the other archaeologists. He bleeds a fluid called sheath fluid, but he lives.

In the summer, Joan sees a ship in the sky and realizes it is her companion, Anne. Sando explains that they need to leave because the Tirans want to shoot missiles at their star. Joan refuses to leave, so Sando shoots her and carries her incapacitated form to safety. The people of Ghahar shoot Anne's ship down and she dies in this realm, but she wakes up to go on new adventures later.

While Joan lies in bed, healing, the other archaeologists spend time excavating. She composes a message to Anne and explains that she didn't die for nothing. Joan ends up creating a note for her backup and sends a message to Sando before going back to sleep.