It was perhaps inevitable that a struggling colony like Juventas would forget much of its early history, let alone things from old Earth centuries before. None of which explained why the planet was so weird.

Just as a critical election looms, Jess Kimber quits her role running the colony's premier development, including the voting infrastructure, looking for a fresh challenge after a messy divorce. Her former colleague, Ravi Antic, sets off as part of an expedition to explore new territories.

At last, the colony is ripe to move on from its troubled start and expand – leaving it vulnerable to exploitation. Jess and Ravi find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that only they can unravel, despite despising each other at a distance.

An alien presence called Bekomdef watches with interest. It knows why Juventas is so strange and why the colony's early days were tough. After all, it had been responsible. Its duty might force it to intervene again.

Once you've enjoyed the standalone novel Scouring Juventas, check out Mark W White's The Tamboli Sequence. This trilogy relates the events predating the departure from Earth of the generation starship that colonised Juventas.