The boundaries of earthlings' possessions in outer space have expanded too widely - and this turned out to be the curse of the human race. The planets of the Empire are too far from each other to provide adequate resistance to the brutal blows of the Brotherhood - artificially bred superhumans who consider themselves to be at a new stage of evolution. But humanity planted a secret weapon in the very heart of the Brotherhood - Admiral Vaun. Everyone calls him a hero, and only he himself knows that he is a traitor...