The novel “The Steps of the Sun” by Walter Tevis was published for the first time in 1983.

Ben Belson made his fortune with the coal market in a world that is running out of energy sources. Winters are getting colder and colder, and many people can’t adequately heat their homes. Belson has enough money to pay for the construction of a spaceship to use to search for uranium.

Belson’s expedition finds an interesting planet with results that are different from what he expected. It’s home to a plant with curious properties, and the discovery of uranyl nitrate on a nearby planet makes the trip seem like a great success. However, Belson finds himself in the midst of a power struggle that endangers everything he has achieved in his life with consequences that will affect the future of the world in one way or another.