The Roving is the second planet of its star, which is not visible from Earth but which lies over 1000 lightyears away in the direction of the southern constellation of Pavo. It has three natural satellites — two recogniseable planetoids like Earth’s moon, and a captured asteroid.

The world is roughly the size of Earth: slightly larger, with a slightly heavier gravity. There are two main continents: one mega-continent, which on Earth would stretch from Greece to Antarctica, Senegal to the Philippines; and a smaller one to its west with a long, thin strait half the width of the Atlantic between them. To the west of the latter are the eroded remains of a third continent, now an archipelago of islands the size of Australia.

Of most interest to the humans are these facts: it is habitable; it has abundant resources; and it is almost empty.