A priest is sent to a base on a distance planet named Ymilas where there is only 1 other form of intelligent life. This race is able to speak with their dead, who hang around for several generations before going on a pilgrimage to dissipate into nothingness. A human dies on Ymilas for the first time and the priest learns of the pilgrimage process. He goes with the ghost, Joe, and one of the aliens to the pole where they encounter a Stonehenge-esque structure that allows Joe to move on.