The book has a subtitle, ""Personal, psychological, historical documents relating to visit by Johor (George Sherban) Emissary (Grade 9) 87th of the Period of the Last Days"". 'The novel is the history of the planet Shikasta under the influence of three galactic empires: Canopus, Sirius, and their shared enemy, Puttiora. The book is a series of reports by Canopean visitors to Shikasta. They record what happens on the planet which is very similar to Earth. The novel shows the Earth's prehistory, how things became worse, the "Century of Destruction" (the 20th-century), and the Apocalypse (World War III).