Anat is a special child, different, and her parents have gone away to figure this out. Meanwhile, Anat and her older brother Oscar live on their planet, Home, in the company of some vampires and protected by their Handmaids—intelligent mechanical beings that do many things for the siblings.
Anat and Oscar play games to pass the time, and their favorite is Smash and Recovery. In one game of Smash and Recovery, Oscar puts the markers that Anat must find in the "Stay Out Territory," and when Anat finds them, she also finds a ship. When Anat touches a part of the ship, she finds out that in fact the ship has been part of her the whole time, and the narration switches to the ship.
The ship has a task, to carry her precious passengers somewhere. She has her Handmaids somehow alter Anat and Oscar and takes them with her after they pose no threat. Though the two children are no longer quite the same, they live, somewhat contentedly, on board the ship.