How can you learn to understand someone who knows every thought you have, every fear you carry—but remains a mystery to himself?
Fifty years ago, the ancient theocratic civilization of Ssean made contact with humans and, over the years, has significantly changed human society. A former envoy from the Ssean world—Lucas Hildebrandt—decided to find a way to resist the influence of the aliens, and he succeeded… but at the same time he unintentionally touched the darkest secret of his invincible opponents. Because of his actions, a struggle for power begins within what seems to be the unshakable alien church—the center of their culture—and over the conflict that is flaring up, something else is watching: a cold, indifferent mind that had been hidden deep in space, but now has decided to act.
And Lucas tries to establish contact with the weapon he wanted to turn against the Ssean—a telepath from another planet. But how do you talk to someone who knows any thought you have, any fear? How do you make someone who knows everything about you listen when they themselves remain a mystery?