To do that, Winton must again descend into the very dangerous streets of nighttime New York. He makes contact with the underworldwhich includes both submachine-gun toting gangsters and Proximans who can burn you to cinder by simply focusing their red lens of an eyeestablishes a partnership with a desperate criminal, steals the private spaceship of a rich United States Senator, learns space navigation in a single night and narrowly avoids being blasted by a naval ship for having entered a restricted sector of space, before finally getting involved in a desperate last-minute plan to thwart the onslaught of a fearsome alien superweapon against the Solar System and Earth. In the end, Winton has no choice but himself assume the role of a dashing space hero, embarking on an almost suicidal single-handed attack on the terrible alien ship.