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 is rescued by a group of elderly people living in a scrap yard. At the hospital, the doctors are shocked when Isabel levitates off her bed and explodes in a cloud of dust. Quatermass theorises that this is not the first time this has happened; Megalithic sites such as prehistoric stone circles are in fact markers where beacons have been left by the alien force for its next visit. Quatermass believes the force is a sphere of energy surrounding the Earth. Quatermass is sceptical; he believes they are dealing not with an intelligence but with a machine constructed to harvest human protein. The space shuttle is destroyed but not before Marshall reports a giant beam of light stretching in all directions. Meanwhile, the Planet People are gathering at Wembley Stadium in the tens of thousands. Annie and Quatermass travel to the stadium but are powerless to prevent the Planet People from gathering. The lightning strikes the stadium.

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".