Earth faces the sun going nova, but the Looran, an alien race, have offered to relocate up to 1,000 selected "colonists" to an Earth-like exoplanet. An intense search for suitable candidates is undertaken, despite attempted political interference. Sabotage prevents the chosen candidates from reaching the departure point on time, so an improvised group is unceremoniously recruited, which includes a high school marching band, a busload of UFO tourists, a Las Vegas lounge singer, and the former President and his daughters. The makeshift group of Earth survivors are set on a 3-year journey to Noma, the resettlement planet the Looran have chosen for them. En route, the tastes and cultural differences between the human guests and the Looran hosts create interesting and at times awkward situations. Eventually the refugees and the Looran gain a better understanding of each other. The colonists are delivered on Noma, but under unexpected circumstances.
