On the outskirts of an empire lies the planet Malibu. Its surface is covered with salt, and only in some places rise islands with grass and trees. Farmers breed туков there, from whose milk an extremely valuable product—malziva—is produced. On Malibu there is also coal mined at the Kvanzin mine, which is worked by highly competitive interplanetary companies. One of the farms, where the orphan Mike Bavarsky—who worked for food and blood as a shepherd—lived, was attacked by a gang of “dogs.” Mike manages to escape, but he is captured by people from another gang—the “badgers.” He finds common ground with them and begins his ascent from an ordinary “badger” to an imperial representative on Malibu.