SPECIAL LEATHERBOUND EDITION. FIRST NOVEL OF MULTIPLE NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR ERIC FLINT, creator of the hugely-popular Ring of Fire alternate history series. A crumbling alien civilization fights to stave off a final fall into barbarism, and human explorers must chose: will they help or standby and let a once high civilization fall?

On a dangerous planet, a crumbling alien civilization fights to stave off a final fall into barbarism. What's more, a human expedition has arrived to churn the mix even further. In a world where caste and mating are genetically determined, one rebel couple choose to pair bond and stay together. Their love will either determine a new pattern and way forward for their species -- or they may become the last of their kind. And now Indira Toledo, a human paleobiologist, must chose whether to introduce one of the oldest human cultural adaptations of all–war–to save a once high civilization from falling to ravaging barbarians.

About Eric Flint
"[P]olitically correct? C'mon! Great fun? Ah, yes."—Booklist

"...Inventive...smile-worthy..."—Kirkus Reviews

"The action is realistic, the people seem to live and breathe...Recommended."—Norm's Notes