About a million years ago, on the planet Resurgem, the people of the Amaranth people died reasonable descendants of flightless birds. This happened shortly after they mastered the technology of space travel. Archaeologist Dan Sylvest is ready to take any risk to unravel the secret of the disappearance of the Amaranth civilization. Otherwise, the scientist is convinced, her sad fate can be shared by mankind scattered around the planets. As a result of the rebellion, Sylvest lost his assistants and resources, moreover, he was outlawed. Seeing no other means to achieve his goal, he blackmails the crew of the trading starship Nostalgia for Infinity into allies. It seems a lesser risk would be to make a deal with the devil. Centuries of wandering in space, the constant struggle for survival turned these people into calculating mechanisms. They are ruthless, fearless and inventive, and they are used to pursuing their goals at any cost. And one of them, by the way, arrived at Resurgem with a secret order to kill Sylvest...