Adventurer "Hawk" Carse flies the fastest spaceship in space and is the quickest draw on his ray-gun. He pioneered Iapetus (a satellite of Saturn), establishing a phanti ranch there, after discovering that the horns of these animals, which bear some resemblance to ostriches, are valuable. It was Carse's trade in these horns that caused the brilliant and evil Dr. Ku Sui to scheme against him and brought about the incident that would be known as the Affair of the Hawk and the Kite.