During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira Navárez finds an alien relic. At first delighted, she is terrified when the ancient dust around her begins to move. As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact is not at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. Now Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation--and Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope. -- Adapted from book jacket.