In a small town, Masefield Truggles, president of the Social Standards Protective League, seeks to expose Blan Forsythe, a man rumored to practice polygamy. Truggles believes Forsythe's lifestyle threatens societal norms and embarks on a campaign to gather evidence against him. He interviews Forsythe's ex-wife, Phyllis Allison, who insists she still loves him and claims their son, Donald, possesses extraordinary abilities. Truggles learns that Forsythe is a tetraploid man, possessing double the normal number of chromosomes, which may grant him superhuman qualities. As Truggles rallies the townspeople against Forsythe, he organizes a series of meetings to reveal Forsythe's alleged immoral behavior. However, during a climactic confrontation, it is revealed that Donald is indeed Forsythe's son, born from a union that defies conventional understanding of reproduction. The townspeople, initially enraged, are confronted with the reality of Forsythe's nature and the potential for a new evolution of humanity. In the end, Forsythe decides to leave town with Phyllis and Donald, seeking a life away from societal judgment. Truggles, faced with his own insecurities and failures, grapples with the implications of Forsythe's existence and the nature of humanity itself, ultimately realizing that his efforts to uphold social standards may have been misguided.
By Charles L. Fontenay · First published 1957 · Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Action