Every species in the Universe gained consciousness after going through the Exaltation, receiving intelligence from their alien mentors, their race of patrons. Everyone except people. People rushed to the stars on their own, going through their own evolution. Or did some mysterious civilization begin the process of Ascension on Earth many millennia ago? And if so, why did she leave humanity? Finding themselves in the position of outcasts, people try to find their place in the galactic hierarchy, but everything changes when another anomaly is found in the solar system: strange “ghosts” on the Sun, perhaps the most incredible form of life ever all known in explored space. An expedition has been sent to study this phenomenon and will descend into the boiling solar underworld. But someone or something does not want the success of earthlings, and the inhabitants of the Sun turn out to be much more terrible and mysterious than scientists thought.