Note: This NOVEL is based on the short story "The Winds of Siros" and is unrelated to the short story "The Seed of Earth", which was originally called "Journey's End" but was retitled before publication. However, this Novel (in cut down form) was published in Novella form in Galaxy in 1962.

Synopsis: Back of book: The leaders of Earth intend to spread Mankind throughout the universe, until every habitable planet boasts a human civilization. 60 colony ships leave Earth every day on a one-way trip to the stars. Each ship carries 100 draftees. 6000 a day. 48,000 a week. Two and one half million every year. If your number comes up, one of them is YOU. The Draftees for the planet Osiris are a typical colony group: fifty men and fifty women with little in common, except their courage and determination to make the best of a situation they cannot change. But sacrifice and brave resolve are not enough to save them in their struggle to survive on a hostile new planet. The tiny band of colonists is torn apart by violence, and threatened by an alien menace. They face disaster, unless someone can discover the secret of survival on a world so different from the one they left behind.