The scope and intensity of Aldiss' imagination is once again revealed in this collection of powerful and evocative stories in which he explores central issues by contemplating the personal problems experienced by ordinary people - a fisherman who crosses a lake that divides two villages and thereby challenges the taboos which separate him from the girl he loves; a young prince whose attempts to liberate his slaves fails because of his failure to understand human nature. The austere conclusions Aldiss draws are counterbalanced by a spark of optimism and humour and by a sense of survival.