Meet the Originals, the first Earth lifeform to reason and understand objectively. Their quest is to gather and store all Earth's knowledge for eternity using other sentient species as supplementary information gatherers. They influence White Eyes, a descendant of the first human inhabitants of the south land. His grandson, The Wanderer, travels to find a woman who, like him, has the "mental gift", the ability to communicate by thought transfer. James Broadbent absconds from a ship in the south land, and is rescued by a descendant of The Wanderer. The fortunes and challenges of the descendants of this couple form the robust and rich tapestry within which this tale unfolds in an implied geographic and historic setting. Among those who become part of the Broadbent family are the convict lass Siobhan, Kwame with origins on two other continents, and Tran, a young oriental man, expert in disguise and languages.

The tale concludes with two actions by the Originals. They provide clues to allow the Broadbent family to thwart a hostile acquisition of Armitage, their pastoral property. At the same time, Originals progress their long-term goal of freeing they intellects from their earthly bodies.