Nearly two centuries after the starship Phoenix disappeared into the heavens, leaving an isolated colony of humans on the world of the Atevi, it unexpectedly returns to orbit overhead, threatening the stability of both Atevi and human government....
It has been two years since the starship Phoenix left Alpha Station on a rescue mission where over four thousand human spacers were under attack by a hostile alien race. Now, exhausted from their journey, the crew of the Phoenix yearns for home....