An equipment malfunction wakes seventeen-year-old Ish early from stasis. Working with the crew he learns many useful skills, including the power of bartering. When peculiar circumstances place him, with the captain, on a planet the humans might colonize, Ish meets the ruler of that world and the beginnings of a treaty is reached, but not all is as peaceful as it seems.After a camping trip results an animal attack and a cave in, Ish and a couple of friends search for a way back to the human settlement. While searching, Ish meets the other intelligent species on the planet and makes a discovery the Rapulii leader wants to keep hidden. The only way he, and his friends, can return to the village where the humans live is with the help of the two species the humans were warned not to trust.