A Soviet launch of a probe to Venus malfunctions, bringing the probe down in the United States. Because it is made of a new alloy, unknown to American technology, Soviet scientists and agents are anxious to recover the probe, which has landed in a remote section of Wyoming. A farmer who encounters it fires his gun at it, and the probe retreats, causing consternation among locals. With the probe still operating as if it has landed on Venus, it is on a course leading to a small town as Soviet and American forces try desperately to stop it.