Set against the magnificent, furious backdrop of the Galactic Center, here is a drama as compelling as the towering Great Sky River. A small human band flees from a threat it cannot hope to match - enormously superior artificial minds embodied in great insect-like machines. This last remnant of humanity is led by Killeen, a man elevated to command in desperate times by his luck and daring. He manages to reach a new planet where he encounters vast wonders - a planet-coring cosmic string, an organic life-form the size of an entire world, another group of humans led by a strange messianic ruler - and even greater dangers from the most awesome beings they have yet to face.