Far in the future, the craftsmen of the distant planet Halma create goods which
are the wonder of the galaxy. But they know little of this. Their society is har
shly regimented, its religion austere and unforgiving, and primitive - to mainta
in standards, even the most basic use of automation is punishable by death.
W
hen Amiante, a wood-carver, is executed for processing old documents with a came
ra, his son Ghyl rebels, and decides to bring down the system. To do so, he must
first interpret the story of Emphyrio, an ancient hero of Halman legend.
