Two weeks before their lavish celebrity wedding, Darius catches his vain fiancée Valora in the arms of a wealthy socialite. Rather than staging a screaming public feud, Darius signs voluntary contracts for an irreversible, deep-space exploration voyage, quietly leaving marital dissolution forms among their wedding paperwork for Valora to sign unread.
On what should be their wedding day, Valora rushes in panic to the coastal spaceport only to watch Darius's shuttle breach orbit toward distant galaxies. As global broadcasts celebrate Darius's monumental interstellar discoveries, Valora's superficial circles discard her, leaving her gazing at the night sky in agonizing, irredeemable grief.
