To get his woman a slice of bread, a man will kill. He does it out of love. To feed and protect his children, a man will conquer the world.

A man wants things safe. If he has to, he will pick up a weapon, and if he can, he will march across the world with it. It's as simple as that. The need for security and the impulses of love left trails of dead and dying across the face of human history and always, somewhere, have made someone happy and safe, and free to build a future. In this novel, Algis Budrys shows us a hope some of us have not forgotten we have - one that many of us may not be able to stomach.