On the tiny space station Azura, kids are destined to follow in their parents’ footseps. But twelve-yearold Maxwell Belmont struggles pleasing his mom—choosing engineering, like his late father, over his love of music. Then a new substitute teacher arrives, Mr. Hames: scatterbrained, charismatic, and a complete liar.

Turns out, Mr. Hames is a Whaler, one of thousands searching for proof of star whales before the government reward expires. But when Max’s ukalala instrument attracts none other than the star whales themselves, he digs deeper and uncovers a photo proving his dad was a Whaler, despite insisting he’d lived on Azura his entire life. He reaches into the cosmos for more information, but accidentally stirs interest in their little space station and other Whalers arrive in droves, disrupting their lives and the safety of the creatures.

When forced to choose between his crew or his search for answers, Max must decide how far he’ll go to understand not only his father, but also the boy he’s become since his death... even at the expense of the star whales themselves..