Jiro Takagi poses as a Japanese Syncam Corporation member aboard the deep-space cruiser Saldes, utilizing forged credentials to board. A former medical student turned fugitive, he murdered three drug dealers he blamed for his sister's fatal overdose. Classified as a "time jumper," he exploits cryogenic sleep during extended space missions to outlive law enforcement pursuit.

When an alien organism infiltrates the Saldes, killing crew members, Australian representative Dick Berry—revealed as a detective tracking him—exposes Jiro’s identity. Motivated by professional resentment, as Jiro’s actions thwarted a drug ring investigation and cost Berry a promotion, Berry handcuffs him for arrest.

Confronting the alien threat and capture, Jiro evolves from stoic reserve to strategic awareness. After Berry is injured, they form a reluctant alliance against the organism. As survivors diminish and Berry dies from infection, Jiro succumbs to despair and attempts suicide, overwhelmed by guilt.

Captain Mike Hamilton intervenes, preventing Jiro's suicide and revealing an escape shuttle. This pivotal act, forged through shared survival, enables Jiro to flee the doomed vessel alongside Nancy Strauch. Their landing on the planet below offers Jiro a potential escape from his criminal past.