Over two million years ago on the planet Mars, or Caipria as its inhabitants call it, a baby is born. Anointed as the Kasei and the dying emperor's replacement, he is thrust into a caste-based society where association with different caste members is strictly forbidden except under certain conditions. Because of his status and being member of the purple caste, his parents make certain he is without want and schooled by the finest teachers available in the land. However, he soon realizes the society and his own feeling do not see eye to eye, and to make matters intolerable, he has to come to grips with a deep dark secret of his own. Questioning his sexual identity, he searches for a remedy for those feelings. One day and while wearing one of his mother's dresses, he is discovered by his father and is severely punished. Forced to take injections to subdue his feelings and enrolled in the top military academy, Kasei endures years of inner turmoil to keep his family name from being involved in a scandal. Assigned to aerospace and spaceflight training, he catches the eye of the head of the spacecraft test directorate and soon finds himself testing all types of spacecraft. Discovering a new type of spacecraft, he soon becomes inseparable with Nova, a carbon-based life form spacecraft. Unhappy with their situations, the two come up with a plan to fake their destruction and search for happiness on another planet the third planet from the sun.