In a backwater cluster of worlds deep within the Solomani Confederation, a covert society has stolen a cosmic secret. Using lost, perhaps forbidden, knowledge the Order of Prometheus will lead humanity into a new age with their custom-made creatures. Loyal warriors, indefatigable workers and resilient beasts of burden, their Golems are the answer to every manpower and labour-relations issue a user could ever imagine.

Investigating a remote installation, the Travellers stumble on evidence that someone is tampering with nature a little too much. A laboratory accident has cost the lives of the researchers, but where are the others of their team? The investigation takes the Travellers from the harsh world of Wasat, with its unusual starport, to logging camps and country estates. They will experience adventures aboard an atomic train and an awkward lunch with the notorious agents of SolSec.

Finally, the Travellers uncover the sinister motives of the Order of Prometheus, and face difficult choices in a city overrun by mindless killing machines. The wrong decision will permit an atrocity whose backlash might be felt right across the Confederation.