Nation

It seemed that the world was unshakable: the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean is cut through by crocodile-sailboats, octopus-climbers grab whatever lies unattended, the empire rules the seas. But then—out of distant steppes—Russian influenza comes and wipes out almost the entire royal family, so the Gentlemen of the Last Hope are forced to go, for the heir of the throne, to the islands of the Sixth Sunday After Easter; then—wake up a volcano, and a tsunami crashes upon the islands of the People and the Little People, so that Mau, who was swimming on the island of Boys, remains the only one of the People—not even having had time to become a man, not having yet found a soul. Now he must sing the Spell of Dark Water and restore the Gods’ Anchors, must find a common language with the fair-skinned girl of the trousers-boys, and convince himself that she is not a ghost; and Ermintruda, preferring the name Daphne, in turn will learn to spit into beer and will discover why the People don’t kill dolphins and strive for the stars.