I looked out at the rising sun. It formed a beautiful, translucently violet horizon where the curve of Andowhan ended and space began. I wondered if there might be something better beyond that horizon. There must be some real meaning, out there, but I felt isolated and constrained from it. Caleb Lonnergan is the youngest son of a family anxious to shield him from the civilization that has already claimed the life of his oldest brother. Although his relatives are indulgent and well-intentioned, Caleb is often irritated by their sheltering and their efforts to keep him in the role of a traditionally dutiful Shondrean son.
Caleb's life changes dramatically when a letter arrives from his father's twin brother Malakai, a letter which fulfills a drunken promise made during a long-ago visit. Malakai offers Caleb a job in a Colonial project scorned by most as a waste of resources-the human re-colonization of Terra.
Caleb impulsively accepts his uncle's offer, having always been fascinated by tales of the dangerous, ancient planet. But lying within Caleb, like a quiet dragon, is a rare genetic anomaly. And, as he experiences first-hand the dangers that seem to lie everywhere but the devastated birthplace of humanity, he learns there is much more to his uncle's offer than he initially realized .
