Elen lives in the post-apocalyptic megacity state Usatopia. It is a city-state populated by robots and artificial organisms including humans. The world has been ravaged by war and disease. Most of humanity no longer exists. One evening Elen's father, Usatopia's Chairman, laments out loud the sad state of the world. Nostalgically he recalls the great leaders of the past and their simpler times. Turning to his daughter he confides that he would rather live as a common man among the Simpletons than be Chairman among his own people.
Shocked that her father would prefer living with a people known for their savagery, Elen asks why. He tells her that they live in beauty. Mystified, Elen decides she must find the Simpletons to understand why her father so puzzlingly admires them and perhaps find a way to restore his happiness. Thus begins her quest. Her journey will be difficult. The Simpletons live in the wildlands far beyond the urbansphere. She will have to travel through urban sectors populated by very different clans. Once she reaches the outersphere she will have to journey into the wildlands where she will encounter hermits and savage marauders and pass through ghost towns and ghost cities.
