Two boy brothers, disobeying their father, the ruler of a City wandering in space, go on a forbidden walk. The price of disobedience is great - both become hostages of the secretly existing Tigard community, a closed community ruled by laws unknown to the City. The Tigards demand a high price for the lives of their children - the loss of such significant resources will bleed the City, threatening the lives of all its citizens... The Ruler of the City is faced with a choice: on one side of the scale - the lives of his sons, on the other - the well-being of the City. And the leader of the Tigards also chooses: for the sake of the freedom of the ancient people, he will have to kill the child...