Humanity has finally begun to settle into their new home. The new colony is coming along well with the ship locked in orbit at the end of an orbital lift providing all their needs, but Mei and the rest of the unbound have decided they don’t want to be any part of this new society and go off on their own across the ocean to meet the natives.
Then all hell breaks loose and Bryan, our illustrious detective from the first book (who is now the chief re-creation officer for the colony), ends up in the thick of it all on the other side of the planet.
All in all, a super good first-contact story, without none of that Star Trek first directive getting in anyone’s way: oh dear!
And now i’m really looking forward to Children of the Divide, the third book of this thoroughly enjoyable trilogy.