A. N. Tolstoy’s famous novel has entered the golden fund of Soviet science fiction. The brilliant invention of engineer Garin — a thermal ray of immense power — becomes a destructive weapon in the hands of its creator. Behind Garin’s hyperboloid, both an American chemical magnate, Rolling, together with the calculating adventuress Zoya Monroz, and the criminal investigation department of Soviet Russia pursue it. In a laboratory on an island in the Pacific Ocean, the newly made dictator Garin prepares to decide the fates of the world…