The novel was written on order from publisher S. Fischer Verlag around the time Lem was emigrating from Poland due to the introduction of martial law.

The explorer spaceship Eurydika (Eurydice) first travels to a black hole near the Beta Harpiae to perform maneuvers to minimize the effects of time dilation.

Before closing on the event horizon, the Eurydice launches the Hermes, a smaller explorer ship, which continues to Beta Harpiae.

The crew reaches the conclusion that there is a Cold War-like state on the planet's surface and throughout the planetary system, halting the locals' industrial development.

The crew of the Hermes assumes that the Quintan civilisation is inevitably doomed to collapse in mutual assured destruction.

However, even this cataclysm does not drive the locals to engage with their alien visitors, so the crewmen deploy a device working as a giant lens or laser, capable of displaying images (but also concentrating beams to the point of being a powerful weapon).

As the planet is engulfed by fiery destruction at the hands of those who were sent to establish contact with its denizens, Tempe finally realizes what the Quintans are.

The book is the fifth in Lem's series of pessimistic first contact scenarios, after Eden, Solaris, The Invincible, and His Master's Voice.