The star system is perfect. The arrivals have undertaken a long and dangerous journey—an expedition of no return—seeking helium-3, essential for the survival of their species. The discovery of this extraordinary solar system with its four gas giants offers a unique opportunity to harvest the rare isotope.

Then comes a disturbing discovery: They are not alone! Another fleet is here, and just as dependent on helium-3. And the two species are so fundamentally different that communication and compromise appear hopeless. All that remains is a fight to the death—and for the future…

No sooner has one of the last surviving humans delivered this bad news to the representatives of the Mendraki and the Iks than he disappears. Kimi, Norok, Tolkut, and Kasfok find themselves alone in a spaceship controlled by technology they do not understand, and together they must avert a threat whose source they do not know.
They have only one clue: They must locate the hidden supercomputer that preserves information about a dark chapter in the history of the strange bipeds – information that may save their peoples...