On Earth he faces culture shock, as he finds the society transformed into a utopia, free of wars or violence, or even accidents.

In time, Hal marries a local girl, Eri, and comes to see the world her way, even disapproving of his youth's love, space expeditions.

Hal still remembers his past, recalls the moon Kereneia, a magnificent canyon "made of red and pink gold, almost completely transparent...through it you can see all the strata, geological folds, anticlines and synclines...all this is weightless, floating and seeming to smile at you".

Even so, the depicted world is not perfect: in a pacified society, with no conflict, stress, and danger, Lem argues that humans will become unable to take any risks, to take initiative, commit themselves to any serious tasks, and even lose the ability for self-assertion and for feeling strong emotions.

Return from the Stars asks whether some sociocultural advances, like peace, are worth the price we may pay for losing part of our nature.

Lem even describes a reading device very much like a tablet computer that the main character Hal Bregg gets familiar with when he tries to find paper books and newspapers.