On the eve of Earth's first global embassy joining the galactic community, disaster strikes. Now a scientist and a programmer find themselves confronting the hidden side of a vast interstellar civilization that appears to be a utopia-on the surface.
Dr. Nina Rodriguez, the embassy's lead neuroscientist, believes because of the aliens' medical advances alone, contact is the best thing to ever happen to Earth. But when a medical incident reveals evidence that the Society might not be as benevolent as they claim, Nina is forced to confront her own biases.
Thousands of light-years from Earth, Marcus Greer is wrestling with the guilt of leaving his family behind while adjusting to life in a post-scarcity culture. Stationed aboard the bioship Fulcrum's Light, the programmer witnesses marvels that leave him questioning whether humanity can truly adapt to the alien technology, or if they even should.
Not sure who she can trust, Nina struggles to solve the medical mystery that hints the embassy's mission may be in peril. And all along her fears grow that humankind's new benefactors may not be benign. Meanwhile, across the galaxy, disturbing parallels of Earth's first contact with the Society arise when the planet of another non-space faring civilization is put in jeopardy. Suddenly Marcus and crew find themselves thrust from space battles to the brink of cosmic disaster in a remote star system.