The war is over and Humanity has prevailed, but victory came at a terrible price. The weapon used to bring down the enemy killed or injured as many people as it saved. One of the unintended casualties, Alicia MacGregor, has existed in a medically induced coma for two years while her neurological injuries were repaired.

At last, to the relief of...

Book One of Five.

An age of peaceful exploration has ended.

With the discovery of the Leyra'an, the centuries-old dream of meeting an intelligent, nonhuman species has finally come true. But that dream becomes a disturbing enigma when the Leyra'an prove to be more than just humanoid. They are like us to a degree that cannot be explained by chance...

While Robert and Alicia MacGregor, survivors of the ill-fated probeship William Bartram, work to rebuild their lives, the Commonwealth seeks a way to end the long, bitter conflict between the Republic and the Leyra’an. But the leaders of the Republic, suspicious of the motives that drive their long-sundered kin and faced with unrest among their...