Julie Trent is a normal, slightly spoilt, twelve-year-old. During a family barbeque there is a violent lightning storm and Julie is thrown off her feet when a bolt of lightning strikes the ground close to where she is standing. Julie is knocked unconscious and when she comes round the world has changed (or is in the process of being changed). Julie and Roy (her next door neighbor) encounter a fierce creature known as a Troganor--the creature appears to try to kill them, and they are rescued from the creature by a strange man. This man is a Lupas--a race of people who are sworn enemies of the Troganors. The Lupas have come to Earth to rescue humans from the Troganors. Julie and Roy are loaded into a small rescue craft with other children--Sarah, Brad, Stephanie and Jason, the oldest member of the group, who acts as their leader. The children are taken to a larger ship to be transported to a temporary home--The Planet of Light and Hope. It soon becomes clear to Julie and her friends that things are not quite as they appear.