Set on Mars during the ascendant age of Martian culture, the story closely follows the Martian woman Ylla, who is married to Yll. They live near a dried seabed, in an opulent house “which turned and followed the sun, flower-like” (2) where their ancestors had lived for 10 centuries. Their marriage has descended into monotony. Despite the wonders of their technology and the effortlessness of their lives, neither is happy, and Ylla recognizes that “marriage made people old and familiar, while still young” (3).

Ylla has prophetic dreams in which a rocket lands on Mars and a man from Earth, Captain Nathaniel York, appears and speaks with her. Yll is dismissive of her dream and later grows angry with her for singing a song she heard in her dream—"Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes.”

In the next few days, Yll attempts to resume their normal lives, but Ylla’s focus returns to her recurring dream of York. When she speaks aloud as she is dreaming, Yll learns that Ylla is flirting with York in her dream and that she is aware of the time and location of the ship’s landing. Incensed, Yll commands Ylla to stay home on the date of the landing while he leaves to hunt.