 Asimov recorded some vivid impressions of the author's research for the book in his own introduction to de Camp's short story collection "The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens" (1953).Twenty-seventh century Earth is united by a worldwide democratic government presided over by a constitutional monarch, though the former is veering toward totalitarianism and the latter is a megalomaniac.To neutralize the World Emperor the power-hungry prime minister has ceded to him control of Greece for use in a mysterious secret project.