Seven men and one woman, from eight different countries, set out in 1970 for the first trip through space aboard the space ship "Kosmokrator I". Their destination is Venus. Here they find all the signs of an advanced technical civilisation but no appearance of life. Their exploration of the planet gradually unravels the mystery.

This is the first science-fiction film to be made by DEFA in East Germany. It is technically interesting and scientifically logical, and it is not without humour; the entertaining little robot, Omega, posessor of an electronic brain, can answer scientific questions and play chess.

The film presents a new departure from the tradition of social realism of the Eastern European countries.