For centuries they kept the world in check, turning human thoughts and feelings into an instrument for their subtle and cruel game. But one day a figure appears who refuses to obey the established rules and begins his own game—where survival of the ancient puppeteers themselves is at stake.
Why is it inexplicably easy for some people to make others submit to them? Where does human aggression come from? How is the mechanism of the social ladder formed? These questions torment psychiatrist Saul Laski, who survived the hell of concentration camps at Chelmno and Sobibor. For him, finding answers means staying on the edge of madness and not losing faith in people.
Meanwhile, a closed community of beings with paranormal abilities—creatures that only look human from the outside—is carrying out a grim campaign: they topple governments and eliminate individuals as casually as moving pieces across a chessboard. But sometimes even the most unnoticed pawn can trap the king…