In 1961, a small space ship crash-landed on the shore of a Greek island, its two occupants refugees from the oppressive regime of Asto. As cousins of humans, the Coldi are similar enough to remain undetected, and the group expanded and had a hand in the development of human digital technology. The ever-growing group managed to stay hidden until 2094, when the news that Homo sapiens is but a small branch in the galaxy-wide human family tree sent shockwaves through Earth.Fast forward twenty years, and upstart diplomat Cory Wilson sees it as his mission to foster understanding between the democratic governments of Earth and the overbearing Coldi culture, a society with a rigid hierarchical structure that is dictated by instinct and pheromones.Amidst the strained relations, a high-profile Earth politician is killed. There is no doubt that it was a non-terrestrial attack, but its nature goes against everything Cory knows about the Coldi. However, when he speaks out defending their innocence, he finds himself out of a job, alone, penniless and unable to return to Earth.Meanwhile people are detained unlawfully, hundreds of thousands of citizens become stuck on a hostile world, and Earth authorities stumble from blunder to blunder in dealing with the Coldi outrage.Only the truth will prevent the conflict escalating, but to find it, Cory has to challenge the very top of the Coldi hierarchy, in a society where the simple act of looking someone in the eye or using the wrong pronouns can mean the difference between life and death.