Major-General Vershinin continues his path through the Grey Perimeter, trying to find a way to return to Earth—return not empty-handed. Without meaning to, he increasingly disrupts the balance of power that has formed on the edge of the galaxy, drawing the close attention of both people and outsiders who consider themselves the masters of this twilight space where cruelty and cynicism are the norm of life. Vershinin’s unusual abilities were not left unnoticed, and naturally, people quickly appeared who wanted to put them to their own use.