On the outskirts of the empire lies the planet Malibu, its surface covered with salt, with only a few islands rising above the sea of salt—where grass and trees still grow. Farmers raise livestock there, producing milk from which an exceptionally valuable substance—malziva—is made. And on Malibu there is also kvanzin coal, mined by interplanetary companies that fiercely compete with one another. One of the farms where the orphan Mike Bavarsky worked—feeding and tending the herd for food and shelter—was attacked by a gang of “dogs.” Mike manages to escape, but is captured by men from another gang—the “badgers.” He finds common ground with them and begins his climb from an ordinary badger to becoming an imperial representative on Malibu.