For almost as long as he can remember, Tom has lived happily in Belthorp. When his father breaks the unbelievable news that their family come from the planet Ormingat and must go back there, Tom is devastated. Apart from the wrench of leaving home, insuperable difficulties stand in their way as they try to reach their return ship.
Eleven-year-old Thomas Derwent is moving. Not to another town or city, but to another planet. He and his father have completed their research mission on Earth, and are returning to The Other Place, the planet of Ormingat, where they came from five years ago. It was so long ago that Thomas can’t remember anything about his life there. All he knows is his life on Earth, and he can’t imagine leaving the places and people he loves so much. Then Thomas becomes separated from his father, and the decision of whether to stay or to go becomes his. Which will he choose?