As war threatens to break out between civilizations, two women -- one a shipwrecked human, the other a freelance warrior of the sexually-dimorphic Makers -- close in on the kidnapped human consul at the heart of the crisis. But for Aly Castillos and A'thiathialae, finding the missing diplomat is only the start of a lethal end-game. Meanwhile, in deep space, a young artificial intelligence named Hawkens DuPree enters into a deadly dance with terrorists...