The Searcher rescues a gold-skinned boy from an escape capsule in an asteroid field. When the ship collides with one of the asteroids, the boy displays his powers of molecular alteration by rescuing Admiral Asimov from beneath a fallen girder. The boy assures the crew of the Searcher that, with the help of his companion, who is on a nearby planet, he can dislodge the ship from the asteroid. But when Buck and Hawk go to the planet to get the companion, they find that he is being held captive by a man who wants to use the boy's powers for his own greedy purposes.