In the far future there are no stars or mighty black holes. A form of human civilisation clings to existence on the sole remaining planet Europeous through strict discipline and uniformity. But as its population gradually grows chaos and individuality enters the collective with disastrous results when a mad scientist's experiment goes awry.A young man called Lance witnesses the destruction of his civilization and his only solace is a history book detailing an important episode in the age of stars..Martan is a human frontier world bordering Mullinarian space. It consists of different governments who view each other as the biggest threat. Then one day the Mullinarians, an ant like civilization launches a devastating attack on the planet. Malthus, a Senior Galthusian Engineer is sent to Venetia, formerly Galthusia's enemy to fix the only human interplanetary spaceship so that a Venetian princess can be sent to the Ciesta system to seek military assistance.But when her bodyguards are killed Malthus and his comrade Socrates join her on an epic journey that determined the future not only of Martan but of all humanity.