Maia Thomas is a Matriarch now. And starting to feel the side-effects of her husband's experiment. Desperate for a cure, she's managed to convince her own ship to let her visit the planet where Dr. Nirick, the doctor and geneticist who can help them, lives.

But the clans are also looking for Nirick. And one of the bounty hunters they've sent seems to hold a particular hatred for Maia. Separated from her daughter, forced to trust a doctor with a horrifying secret, and increasingly concerned for her own sanity, Maia must find the answer to one question: Which monster should she trust?