Prince Ferbin miraculously survived the battle in which his father, King Hausk, lord of the Sarls inhabiting the Eighth Level of the Sursamen Hollow, was killed. Forced to save his life, the prince leaves this artificial planet - one of thousands built for an unknown purpose by a species known as the Mantle, extinct over a billion years ago - and goes in search of his sister Jan Serius Anaplian, who during the years of their separation managed to become an agent of Special Circumstances Contact services of supercivilization Culture. But Jan cannot explain why Sursamen, especially his primitive Eighth Level by galactic standards, suddenly attracted such close attention from so many powerful civilizations... The translation is published in a new edition.