On a human settlement on Venus, a classroom full of children waits for the rain to stop and the sun to shine for the first time in seven years. None of them are old enough to remember what sunlight is actually like, with the exception of a girl named Margot who lived in Ohio until she was four years old. Margot is quieter than the other children and does not crowd around the windows the way they do. She is a frail girl and there are rumors that her parents are going to have to take her back to Earth because she is not healthy. The other children sense Margot's otherness in how she interacts with them such as how she does not play with them when they try to include her in games.

The teacher leaves the room and the children get nervous as the rain continues on. It becomes clear that Margot is waiting for the sun with the rest of them, even if she is standing apart. Someone declares that it is all a prank and the sun is not really going to come out. Margot protests, saying that the scientists know it will happen. The children gleefully turn on Margot, locking her in a closet before returning to their classroom.

When the teacher returns, the sun does come out. The teacher lets the children outside, warning them that they only have two hours, so they run outside into the jungle, marveling at the sunlight. After an hour though, a girl catches a rain drop and the thunder and lightning start again. The children have to rush back inside. One of the children remembers Margot and the group solemnly goes and lets Margot out of the closet.