In this futuristically based novel by Glenn Lewis Gillette, the majority of "real time" action takes place in the Continent of Popovich located on the planet Yeibichai. At the center of the novel is a struggle over which consortium will provide essential services for this community. From the opening words it is clear that many of the tensions found among the crassest forms of capitalism known in the 20^th/21^st centuries are alive and well in the coming century. The naked pursuit of power and profit, human welfare be damned, versus the more human and humane approach of a cadre of caring and compassionate professionals, dominates much of this work. Intrigue abounds as the plot reflects principles articulated in a bygone era, as Lord Palmerston said, "We have no eternal allies, we have no perpetual enemies," or paraphrased for more modern times as "We have no permanent allies, only permanent interests." We can also apply a phrase attributed to an unknown Arab sheik: "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

There are a bevy of highly credible – credible, though not necessarily sympathetic – characters in this novel. The most interesting and complex figure is Jik Dain Bedlip, who is a wonderfully crafted persona who clearly suffers from multiple personality disorder. He may be crazier than a loon, but he is emphatically a danger to others: attractive, red-headed tactician Doyle Phoebe Heejanus, Weir Annadetcall, a rival tactician from a competitve combine, and Dyr Kanpachiro Nitsta, who is on assignment from one of the corporate staffs. These three come closest to the heroine/heroes of Seeds of Disaster. Jik Dain Bedlip is likewise a continuing danger to himself. To understate the obvious, JDB has highly volatile unresolved internal personality conflicts. Then add a few more believable personalities such as the vividly drawn ego-maniacal Har Norma Byukan, the most powerful Partner on the Team that controls the Consortium Phoebe works for, an organization containing all the combines doing business on the Continent Popovich, and Ges Lugar Sailie -- head of Propaganda for Le Coeur de la Patrie. The book contains a galaxy of personas that interact and intersect with each other in this rapidly moving, deftly written novel.

In this futuristic world of exotic and marvelous machines, interactions between people use a range of digital capabilities. For example, meetings/can-be-seen, called "can-sees," where you're allowed to fix up the pictures you send, or "will-sees" where such pixelation is rude. Of course, analog still exists in "can-hears," i.e., telephone calls, and "can-feels." Everyday, mundane computers produce complex graphics and information at the touch of the foilscreen – all part of Gillette’s rich imagination and reflect his professional life as a computer guru.