In 2069, the European Space Exploration Council's (EUROSEC) unmanned spacecraft ''Sun Probe'' discovers a planet in the same orbit as Earth on the other side of the Sun. Dr. Kurt Hassler, based at the EUROSEC Space Centre in Portugal, is a double agent who has been leaking the probe's findings to a rival power in the Eastern world. Security Chief Mark Neuman traces the transmissions to Hassler's laboratory and shoots the scientist dead.