The head of Galaxity’s Spatio-Temporal Service himself has joined Valerian and Laureline at Inverloch Castle. There, among various human and alien allies, he explains to them the threat that looms over Earth: all of the recent incidents, all those important people gone mad and threatening to bring about the apocalypse... All of that is due to the malicious influence of the mysterious planet Hypsis. But Hypsis is a world that moves from system to system – it’ll need to be pinpointed first...

Two agents of 24th century Earth patrol space and time to safeguard both the planet's future and its past. The 12th volume of Valerian and Laureline, one of the most influential science-fiction comic series of the past 40 years!

Valerian and Laureline take a break from adventuring and go on a cruise, but Valerian feels uncomfortable among the idle and the powerful. He’s not bored for long, though, because when a quartet of mercenaries board the cruise ship to kidnap the son of the Caliph of Iksaladam, they end up taking Laureline as well. With the almighty Caliph offering a massive reward for his son’s return, Valerian’s quest to rescue his girl is suddenly hindered by every bounty hunter in the galaxy...

The (false?) gods of Hypsis are once again interfering with Human history. Tired of their lower status among their peers, the trinity in charge of planet Earth opens communications with megacorporation Vivaxis at the end of the 20th century – an occurrence Valerian and Laureline’s allies report to the two ex-agents. But to what end did the Hypsians initiate such a contact? And who is the mysterious Sat who, from the depths of Point Central, also endeavours to meddle with Human affairs?

Valerian and Laureline, no longer members of any organisation, are down to doing space deliveries. With Galaxity gone and money getting scarce, their aging spaceship is becoming a hazard, which is pushing Valerian into accepting questionable cargo. After a somewhat rough landing, our two ex-agents, on their way to deliver their goods, meet some individuals with very surprising gifts who claim to be itinerant artists. But is that really all they are?

Galaxity's orders are rather bizarre, lately. Laureline has been left on stand-by in a Scottish castle. Valerian, haunted by recurrent nightmares, has been sent to capture a sentient being as if it were a wild animal - an unsavoury task, to say the least. And on Earth in the 1980s, members of the military and political elites are descending into madness one by one. What future does our planet still have ... and who's so bent on changing it?

On an interstellar cruise ships, a mysterious individual in full environmental suit is working hard to get to Earth. On Earth, meanwhile, another person in a spacesuit is exploring a nuclear reactor on behalf of its owners. That second man is Valerian, and since the disappearance of Galaxity, he’s been forced to make a living by putting his advanced knowledge and equipment to good use. But what he’s discovered insidethe plant is extremely worrisome...