In the cargo hold of a spacecraft, two primitive creatures—Marcus Walker, a Chicago trader, and George the dog, who was trained to speak in order to increase his price—along with other captured intelligent beings from different planets were sent to more civilized parts of space, where the market for alien “pets” is widely popular. And although all the captives manage to escape, it’s too early to rejoice: they are billions of miles away from their home worlds, with not a single clue as to where they should go in the Universe—up, down, left, or right. With their excellent communication skills, Walker, aided by the alien friends he has gained, becomes the leader of an armada of refugees. But even the commander of a space fleet finds it hard to locate the galactic systems of his unfortunate fellow travelers among countless star clusters—like a needle in a haystack. Yes, the Universe is full of many civilizations and different kinds of intelligent beings—and Walker will encounter them.