In a bleak near-future of gangs ruling the streets, Professor Quatermass is accosted by thugs while on the way to a television studio to offer commentary and analysis for Britain's part in an international satellite broadcast covering a US-Soviet space link-up (similar to the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975). He is rescued by a young space scientist, Joe Kapp (Simon MacCorkindale), who is on his way to appear in the same programme. During the transmission, Quatermass is harshly critical of the space mission, and predicts that missions like it are wasteful and probably doomed in some way because they don't produce anything useful. Not long afterward, malfunctions begin to show up, and the mission fails, with all lives lost, due to unknown causes. Quatermass and Kapp are forced to flee to the latter's remote lab, which is near a stone circle called the Ringstone. A group of young religious zealots marches to the circle, apparently to take it over for some reason of their own...

Following the devastation at Ringstone Round, Quatermass hears of similar incidents worldwide and returns to London with district commissioner Annie Morgan and a Ringstone 'survivor' Isabel. En route they become separated in a shootout between rival gangs. Meanwhile, the beam of light descends again - near Joe Kapp's home.

Quatermass emerges from the car park to find the stadium empty. So many have now been harvested that the particles of dust in the air have turned the sky green. Kapp attempts to repair his equipment in order to contact the alien presence, but the Planet People destroy his efforts. Quatermass plans to fake the presence of a large gathering of Planet People at Kapp's observatory and, when the force comes, to detonate a nuclear weapon. Kapp volunteers to stay behind with Quatermass to help detonate the bomb. The pair set up the trap and wait. Suddenly, Kickalong appears with a group of Planet People, including Quatermass' granddaughter, Hettie. The light appears, indicating that the alien force has arrived, but the shock of seeing his granddaughter among the Planet People causes Quatermass to suffer a heart attack. However, aided by Hettie, he is able to detonate the bomb. Later, according to Gurov, "The message was taken. It has not come again. We pray it will never come again".