The Connatic rules the three thousand inhabited planets of the Alastor Cluster from his palace Lusz on the world Numenes. Though his military force can bring considerable might to bear where necessary, the Connatic often wanders among his subjects incognito, intervening to right a wrong, or leaving well enough alone. For a century, the people of Arrabus on the planet Wyst have lived by the Egalistic Manifold, in a society which minimizes toil but guarantees adequate food and shelter to all. Jantiff Ravensroke performs the required thirteen hours of 'drudge' per week, experiencing the frivolity that otherwise characterizes Arrabin existence-but discovers a conspiracy to control the wealth of Arrabus, and threaten the life of the Connatic himself. With unerring insight into human nature, world-builder Jack Vance tells a story of treachery and intrigue, in one of his most controversial works. Wyst is Book II in the Alastor sequence, and Volume 48 of the Spatterlight Press Signature