Lewis Orne, a man with great personal magnetism, makes planetfall on Hamal. He is a freewheeler, but his assignment is precise this time, to detect any signs of latent aggression in this planet's population, situated as it is on the edge of a war-weary and devastated galaxy.

He finds, to his astonishment, that his extrasensory powers, till now not underdeveloped some would say, are without measure. Soon, he is invited to join the company of 'gods' on this planet. The world he enters, the fantastic journeys and rites he performs are a masterly tour de force from this highly acclaimed imaginative writer.