At the beginning of a
world-spanning war, a group of
colonists are dispatched to the planet
Mars from a
spaceport in
New York City. The Bittering family, composed of father Harry, mother Cora, and their children Dan (referred to as
Tim in some versions), Laura, and David, arrives as part of the few colonists chosen for the first wave. Harry is initially disquieted by the
Martian environment, but he takes comfort in the fact that the family can return to Earth when resupply ships arrive. Strange events begin to affect the life brought as part of
the settlement effort, including the seeded grass sprouting purple, the family cow growing a third horn in the middle of its head, and other anomalies with the
vegetable garden. Harry's discomfort on Mars increases and the thought of returning to Earth on the next resupply mission soon becomes his only comfort, much to the concern of Cora. This solace is taken away as Bittering is informed that the war has led to an
atomic bomb devastating New York City and destroying the only
spaceport capable of supporting travel to
Mars. Frantically, he begins work on building a
rocket to return himself and his family to Earth. As he works on his rocket, the
colonists themselves soon begin to manifest Martian traits. Harry staves this off by only eating food brought from Earth, but eventually runs out. With no choice but to consume Martian-grown food, he soon notices that his own
eyes have started to turn
gold, and the
townsfolk's skin darkens into a shade of
brown. Cora convinces Harry that a family swim in one of the
rivers of
Mars would do him good to relax, and he hesitantly agrees. While there, their eldest son, Dan, requests to be referred to by the Martian name
Linnl. Harry and Cora, now almost entirely Martian, agree easily, and the other two children quickly adopt Martian
names as well. As they return to the town, the Bitterings discover that the colonists are retreating to the ancient Martian
villas in the mountains, as the summer has made the valley stiflingly hot. Harry briefly expresses a wish to stay and work on his rocket but is easily persuaded to go with the rest of the colonists and come back when the
weather is cooler. Five years later, the United States, having won the war and rebuilt New York, sends a small
military dispatch to recover the colonists sent to Mars, only to find their
settlement abandoned. The soldiers instead encounter a large Martian settlement in the mountain villas, where the native Martians are pleasant and have a remarkable affinity for English. Blaming the original
colony's disappearance on a
plague instead of the local Martians, the group agrees to attempt a second, larger
settlement using the town built by the first group. == Analysis ==