An ethnologist researcher visits the planet Gethen (which means winter on Earth), and thus comes face to face with another world, completely different from Earth. This encounter with the "foreign" forces the hero to completely reassess taboo positions and views, not only regarding the nature of sex and sexism, but also cultural alienation in general. The Earth Envoy slowly but steadily sheds outdated ideas and inhumane philosophies, overcoming a multitude of arteriosclerotic conventions, ultimately managing to achieve understanding.