A narrator opens with a note on pronoun translation and teases Gurgeh’s naivety. Aboard the disarmed warship Limiting Factor, Gurgeh feels isolation while accelerating through ultraspace. He studies Azad’s theory and history for months, struggles with biotech pieces, and follows the ship’s advice to focus on subsidiary games. Rendezvousing with GSV Little Rascal, he meets the tiny library drone Flere-Imsaho and explores the ship while continuing intensive training and learning Eächic.

Contact’s envoy Shohobohaum Za appears on the GSV, flamboyant and irreverent. Flere-Imsaho receives a bulky disguise to hide Culture capabilities. Briefed on Azadian ownership-based society and taboos, Gurgeh arrives at Eä under escort, is lodged in his module atop a grand hotel, and endures a lavish palace ball. He meets Emperor‑Regent Nicosar and, after an awkward kneel, survives the introduction. Za warns him about the Empire’s dangers, introduces grif, and outlines the colleges’ political power. A young female player, Trinev Dutleysdaughter, reveals gender bias in the tournament and secretly taps Gurgeh’s robe bug, whispering, “You win.”

Gurgeh begins his Main Series group: he wins strategy-cards and minor boards, but on the Board of Origin a coordinated alliance led by a priest nearly eliminates him. Refusing to resign, he spends a sleepless night; from the distant Limiting Factor he asks only for hope, not guidance. The next day he feints and lies through moves and pre-placed cards, shattering the alliance, routing the priest, and surging to victory. Reporters swamp him; Lo Pequil plans publicity, which Gurgeh refuses. The ship congratulates him; Flere-Imsaho frets as Gurgeh bristles at being managed.

Seeking relief, Gurgeh accepts Za’s invitation to the Hole, an underground warren of vice and spectacle. Amid staged sex-fights and drugs, Gurgeh declines private amusements but befriends two witty Azadian women, Inclate and At-sen. When At-sen’s ex‑master drags her away before she can gain freedom, Inclate begs Gurgeh’s help. Gurgeh confronts the abuser, who brandishes a gun and flees; they find At-sen shaken.

In a mirrored room, intimacy begins before Za kicks in the door and smashes the wall to reveal a hidden camera. Realizing they were being recorded, Za pockets the device and urges flight, ending the night with danger and exposure looming.