The planet where Maxim Kammerer's ship crashes boggles his mind: the aftermath of a nuclear conflict, the mental conditioning of the population, the constant 'echo of war,' a brutal dictatorship... Seeing numerous examples of savagery and injustice, Maxim, who grew up in a communist world, decides to correct all the deformities of the state system of the planet Saraksh.

Authors: Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky