2065.With Earth rendered uninhabitable by war, humanity's remaining survivors send a fleet of ships to different points in the galaxy in the hope of finding a new world. After seven years of travel and long since out of communication range, the crew of The Pegasus are nearing their destination when they encounter a derelict ship. As tensions on board rise and they struggle to complete their mission they soon realize that they are not alone and must fight for their survival - and the survival of the human race.
Hedda, beautiful daughter of the late General Gabler, returns from her honeymoon with scholar husband Jorgen to confront the boredom and banality of married life. Although she has little more than amused contempt for her husband, she is pregnant by him and is revolted by the thought of carrying his child and the changes that motherhood will impose upon her future. When the re-appearance of an old flame of hers threatens both Jorgen's career prospects and her own amour propre, Hedda contrives to bring about Lovborg's destruction but, in the process, also brings about her own.