It had been nearly twenty years since James had left for Hectar and ten years since anyone had heard from him. Ella knew she should give up and move on. And part of her wanted to move on, but she couldn't shake the feeling that James was still out there. Struggling to keep everything afloat in her husband's absence, Ella runs the company, raises their son, Max, and heads the search and rescue efforts, all-the-while doing her best to keep corporate greed in check.

James was a successful biological engineer and architect back on Earth. What did he know of war? After reluctantly fighting a prolonged war halfway across the galaxy, James struggles to overcome hostile AI Creatures, inter-dimensional wormhole lifeforms, and DNA altering substances, along his journey home. When all seems lost, only the thought of his wife and son, keep him going.

Humanity is us, but we are not the same. We hope that we are evolving towards a better version of ourselves. However, that evolution is not a straight trajectory and progress is not evenly distributed.

Elizabeth Chang crafts an exciting interplanetary adventure where space is capricious and unpredictable. This story is a grand adventure on an epic scale where familiarity and strangeness are woven together with seamless ease. Her ideas about science are revolutionary, and her sense of adventure is timeless.

Like many star ships of 20th century Sci-Fi, the cautious optimism of this novel offers inspirational models for science and culture. Yet, Chang stretches the possibilities with new ideas about the underlying principles and purpose of technological development.

Chang has resolved some of the major issues of our own time in elegant and captivating ways while other problems continue. She explores solutions to the problems caused by our manufacturing practices and material culture, with intriguing ideas inspired by the latest research and a sincere love for the natural world. The technologies she creates also span interplanetary scales and explore the practical application of cutting-edge quantum theory.

Although humanity has come together to solve catastrophic problems like global climate change, regionalism and sexism persist. Though humanity has traveled beyond the solar system, major economic powers on Earth scheme against each other. Chang writes women who are brilliant, graceful, and loyal in the face of cultures that insist on their compliance and dependence.