In the twenty-third century, people can do a lot - travel in space at speeds beyond light, create people using constructive genetics, discover new planets. But no person has the right to have any mutations in his body, because mutations have been declared a threat to the very existence of humanity. Space pilot Bentol Hoden has always met the most stringent requirements and enjoyed a successful career. Inexplicable events in space changed his fate - he began to show unusual abilities and, as a mutant, found himself outlawed. Trying to escape, Bentol sets off on a long flight. But will his new abilities help him study the life of the distant planet Stika, resist the flying stars - the astrions, and, finally, return to human society? It depends only on him.