Achille is a young man employed by an Italian publishing house who wants to publish a science fiction novel about a rocket in space. He has eyes for the publisher's daughter, Lidia, but she bemoans that he has no money and that her father thinks science fiction is worthless. U.S. agents have discovered that his blood contains glumonium from a monkey breast milk diet as a newborn. (His father ran a zoo.) This makes him capable of space flight. They come to Italy hoping to recruit him for US space efforts with a $100,000 on-the-spot incentive. Because of language difficulties, Achille thinks they want to publish his book (i.e., launch it). He is unaware that supplemental lucrative payments are because he may not be able to return once shot into space. Based on his windfall, and the publisher thinking he has a star on his hands, Achille can now marry Lidia. The Germans want Achille for their space program, too. When they try to capture him, they also pick up Lidia's father.