Summer 1977

Earth is dying under a relentless bombardment from Gamilas. The surface has become radioactive and uninhabitable, forcing the last humans into underground cities with only a short time left before the contamination reaches them. Then a message arrives from the distant planet Iscandar, offering technology capable of cleansing Earth.Humanity rebuilds the sunken battleship Yamato as a spacecraft equipped with a wave-motion engine and sends it across 148,000 light-years. Captain Okita and his crew have one year to reach Iscandar, obtain the salvation device, and return. Between them and home lies a hostile galaxy, the forces of Gamilas, and a mission on which the survival of the human race depends.