An accomplished translator and poet named Gallinger becomes Earth's leading expert on the newly discovered Martian language. When he joins an expedition to Mars, Gallinger, a polyglot, uses his remarkable language acquisition skills to gain the trust of the native people. As a result, he is invited to enter the sacred Citadel of Tirellian in order to learn more about their culture and history. No Earthman has ever entered the Citadel, and Gallinger's crew resent him for this historical opportunity . One of the Martian Matriarchs, M'Cwyie, agrees to tutor Gallinger in their language and give him access to the religious documents that contain the historical records of their civilization. As he works on copying and translating the documents, he learns about an ancient philosopher named Locar, whose somber writings remind him of the pessimistic Book of Ecclesiastes on Earth. M'Cwyie shows Gallinger some of the sacred Dances of Locar, performed by a transfixing dancer named Braxa. Over time, Gallinger becomes obsessed with his work and barely sleeps. M'Cwyie agrees to let Galinger bring cameras into the Temple's records room, and she also invites him to stay in the Citadel, instead of on his ship. Learning how advanced the Martian culture once was, Gallinger begins to wonder why so few Martians are still alive. Braxa tells him that after an apocalyptic event, all Martian children have been born sterile and the men are permanently impotent. Their species will die out within the next generation. Gallinger develops a secret romantic relationship with Braxa, but she disappears shortly before his ship is scheduled to leave Mars. He searches for her in the desert, determined to see her again before he leaves. When he finally finds her, she reveals that she is pregnant with his child, which she didn't think was possible. Gallinger realizes that the Martian race could survive if the women mate with human men, but Braxa insists that they are destined to die out because Locar and his followers decided that this was how their species would end. Gallinger begs her to come back to Earth with him, but she refuses. Gallinger decides to confront M'Cwyie and convince her that the Martian extinction is not necessarily predestined, but he is prevented from entering the Temple by an imposing Martian man named Ontro. Gallinger fights and ultimately defeats Ontro, then interrupts the sacred ritual going on within. He delivers an impassioned speech, comparing the writings of Locar to the Book of Ecclesiastes. Even after Ecclesiastes condemned the human race as insignificant, humanity survived wars, plague, and famine, and continued to live. He argues that there are probably other fertile Martian women besides Braxa that could carry on the Martian race. M'Cwyie reveals that Gallinger has fulfilled a prophecy that predicted that a holy man would come from the heavens to save the Martians in their final hours. M'Cwyie also reveals that it was Braxa's duty to wait for the holy man, and Gallinger is devastated to learn that she never actually loved him. He returns to his ship and falls asleep, only waking when the ship is lifting off.