In a future where the Earth has been savaged by overpopulation and over‑farming, robots are considered more valuable than humans and sand must be altered to create artificially fertile soil. Ex‑convict Knowle Noland, the hallucinating sea captain of the Trieste Star, finds himself wrapped up in a plot to incite a global war that will wipe out millions. War, it seems, is the only way to drastically reduce the population and create a better world for those who survive.