Scavengers circling in anticipation. The last days of the Gzilt civilization are near. The ancient people, organized according to military principles and at the same time surprisingly peace-loving, the Gzilts helped to establish the Culture ten thousand years ago, almost becoming one of its monuments, deciding not to join only at the last moment. Centuries later, they made the collective decision to follow the beaten path of millions of other civilizations they go to Sublimation, rising to a new infinitely richer and more complex existence. However, in the process of preparation, the high command of the Gzilt regiment was destroyed. Lieutenant Captain (reserve) Vir Cossont seems to have been involved in what happened, and she is now wanted - dead or alive. With the help of an ancient, restored android and a suspicious avatar of Culture, Cossont must fulfill her last mission entrusted to her by the High Command. She must find the oldest man in Culture, a man over nine thousand years old, the only one who has an idea of what really happened in the source. It seems that the last days of the Gzilt civilization will be the most dangerous.