Two humanoid extraterrestrials arrive on Earth and are received with enthusiasm by the world's population. Called the loverbirds, the aliens dazzle Earth with their radiant love for each other. The whole world is entranced by them, and noticing the world’s infatuation, the most powerful man in the world runs a search on the lovebirds using a supercomputer. The machine reveals that the aliens hail from the planet Dirbanu. Earth has previously dealt with this far-away planet; Dirbanu sent an ambassador to assess Earth’s worthiness and found it lacking. Since then, communication has been completely cut off. Communication lines are reopened, however, when Dirbanu contacts Earth requesting the return of the loverbirds (who are fugitives from their home planet). Earth authorities, eager to finally gain access to Dirbanu’s superior technology, arrest the loverbirds and send a two-man crew to return the magical beings. 

The two crew members are Rootes and Grunty. Rootes is captain and Grunty is his subordinate. Grunty, whose name reflects his manner of speaking, is better suited to the strain of deep-space travel and relishes the short periods when Rootes is blacked out from the speed of the voyage. While Rootes is unconscious, Grunty decides to observe their captives. As he does, his mind begins to craft eloquent, lofty thoughts. Though he cannot verbalize these ideas, he nonetheless enjoys being well-articulated in the comfort of his own mind. As he is mid-thought, he realizes the body language of the loverbirds has shifted and he concludes that they are telepathic. Grunty is alarmed and angered by this realization; the loverbirds having knowledge of his innermost thoughts puts him at their mercy. Grunty has escaped the confines of Earth’s societal expectations by fleeing to space, and if his inner musings were to be revealed, he would lose his freedom. He escapes their mental reach by manually putting himself into stasis. When he wakes, Rootes admonishes him for neglecting to feed the loverbirds.

Spurred by his fear, he decides to kill the loverbirds to preserve his freedom. He finds a gun in Rootes’ locker and approaches their cell. Just as he’s about to fire, one of the loverbirds holds up drawn images of Grunty, Rootes, and an unknown girl. Grunty is mesmerized as they share images of the three humans, themselves, and a third alien naked. The third alien is considerably different in appearance, and Grunty realizes they are showing him a female of their species. Grunty has a moment of understanding and lets the loverbirds escape the ship. Rootes wakes up and is once again enraged with Grunty. Through a stunted conversation, Grunty reveals that the loverbirds were a queer couple. He let them escape because he knew Rootes, who is violently homophobic, would kill them. They reach Dirbanu and establish a connection with the inhabitants, informing the authorities that their prisoners are deceased. The Dirbanu officials are content with that knowledge but still refuse any alliance with Earth. Exasperated, Rootes sets course for home. After he slips into unconsciousness, Grunty contemplates the loverbirds’ escape and settles down beside his crewmate. He wonders why people cannot choose who they love, especially since he himself harbors romantic love for his homophobic captain. But he doesn’t agonize over this tension, instead finding contentment caressing his unconscious captain’s face.