Multitudes of visitors flock to Donov to see the mushroom church, the philpp trees and to buy paintings of the planet’s extraordinary light effects.  Donov is a multi-million pound interplanetary tourist centre, a planet devoted to art and artists. On the outer worlds of the galaxy disorder is spreading. Animaloids – non-human life forms – are demanding equal status with humans.  Art critics are notoriously inhuman – and on Donov, many of them were physically inhuman as well. Then one of Donov’s leading art critics receives a brilliant painting from a mysterious source. Is it possible that this is the work of an animaloid, a superb creation of a gifted non-human intelligence?  Cover art by Colin Andrew.