A spaceship full of scaly Contarians from Planet Tribuline, hotly pursued by Zendatchi pirates, crashes outside a small English village. Young locals Emma, Tivvey, Max, and Neil contact the beleaguered aliens and, with the help of Dave, an adult, contrive to steal the two dozen large diamonds needed to effect repairs. They escapes in the nick of time. Even the most uncritical readers will be bothered by the ease with which this all comes off; the children have little difficulty passing through the military cordon thrown around them, communicating with the Contarians, or dashing off to London to rob a jewelry store, and everyone returns to normal, daily life as soon as the aliens are gone.