When Ivan Zhilin, interplanetary engineer, returned after years of space work, he wanted a quiet vacation on some sunny restful spot on Earth. And at first, it seemed he found the place - a charming seaside city in a "liberated" country. But somehow, since his long sojourn in far orbits, things had subtly gone wrong. He got disquieting hints of irrational actions, of secret societies of a destructive nature, of events of mass madness... and a constant reference to a mysterious product only available through the "right connections." And when he pursued the enigmas, he found himself projected into The Final Circle of Paradise - the ultimate electronic "high."