The Keymaster civilization not only provides new technologies to the world but also makes sure that their conditions are fulfilled to the letter: unrestricted access to the Gates for all who are willing.

Can he save the last one before she perishes and, in the process, uncover a massive conspiracy going back thousands of years with the Keymasters in the middle?

Each of the 7 parts of the novel starts with a word of the Russian mnemonic (see Roy G. Biv) which helps to remember the spectrum colors: "Kazhdy Okhotnik Zhalaet Znatj Gde Sidit Fazan" (Every hunter wants to know where a pheasant sits; K - Krasny, red; O - oranzevy, orange; Zh - zholty, yellow; Z - zelyony, green; G - goluboy, blue; S - siniy, indigo; F - fioletovy, violet).

Each planet has something of the corresponding color (e.g., the Preria features orange sky and the first human met by the Walker, is a red, even orange-covered kid).

In the Orange part, there appears a "cowboy" whose name is not revealed but it's hidden in the paragraph describing him; by reading only capital letters you get the name "Semetskiy" (for several years, Russian and Ukraininan SF writers included a character of this name who had to be killed in this or that way.

The real Semetskiy is a well known Russian SF fan, works in book selling business and a good friend of Sergey Lukianenko and many other writers.)

However, it is also home to a native race of sentient humanoids (called Indians by the colonists), who live in a primitive agrarian society.

The Valley of God is an area on Marge devoted to all religious cults of the galaxy with most of the followers and priests being Dio-Dao.

A unique planet, completely covered by a thin layer of water with extremely high surface tension, allowing anyone to walk on it as if on land.

Home to the Shealy, a race of sentient flightless birds, who have learned to completely suppress their minds after reaching adulthood.

This uninhabited planet is covered by a 600-foot layer of fog, which converts solar radiation into electricity, which is then transferred to the ground.

This energy powers the constant synthesis and destruction of matter in small artificial chambers known as safes.