She was tired, very tired of running and hiding all the time. But Valeria saw no other way out, fearing that the Severian would deprive her of the woman’s most precious possession. The life of planet Earth, established for centuries, changed in an instant when alien guests arrived on it. Fate played a cruel joke on an ordinary primary school teacher, testing her strength every now and then. If only she knew that her long road to happiness was just beginning....