In this natural followup to The Beasts of Delphos, Adessa Tetrostsionu is a cultural anthropologist from Delphos come to Allahu'akhbar, a world orbiting a red giant, made of diamond and controlled entirely by an ancient religion. As Adessa learns of the ways and customs of this strange planet, he finds more than he expected when he's befriended by a local family. He learns that some values, such as trust, respect and love, are truly universal, he learns that some laws are not to be broken, and he learns that not even the gods can stand against the power of one human heart. This is a novel with gay themes.