Taking place long after the self-extinction of Man, it recounts the tale of Frost, a sentient machine.
While humans have long ago caused their own extinction the sentient machines they created continue the work of rebuilding a shattered Earth.
Along the way, the story explores the differences between Man and Machine, the former experiencing the world qualitatively, while the latter do so quantitatively.
Driving the plot and setting its tone are Frost's intention to become a Man and allusions to other literature, most specifically the first chapter of the Book of Job, both in situation and language, as verses are both quoted directly and paraphrased.
Finally, Frost and Mordel enter into a Faustian bargain, though with better results than in the original.