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Readying her Galactic Exploration department for a routine debriefing of a Dushau planetary scouting team, the newly dubbed "Lady" Zavaronne finds that the new Emperor has jailed some of her Dushau as scapegoats for his political failures. Assuming its all a mistake, Zavaronne befriends the team's Artificial Intelligence, Arlai, and breaks the team survivors out of jail. But when the Emperor embargoes the Dushau homeworld, she must decide which side she's on before the Emperor destroys the whole galactic civilzation.

With Imperial Troops in hot pursuit, "Lady" Zavaronne, with her now trusted Dushau friend Jindigar and his friends of many species, crashes on a colonizable planet which the Dushau have kept secret from the Empire, against all Laws. She has forgiven Jindigar that lie, but now she finds he has lied to her again. The planet has intelligent natives, and is therefore embargoed.

They can't survive here unless she joins Jindigar's Dushau exploration team in a psychic bond so they can blend into the local ecology.

They must convince the Natives to hide them from the Imperial troops chasing them. As they take refuge with a Hive Dwelling native, Zavaronne must peel away the Dushau's lies, half-truths, and hidden agenda so she can decide if she can trust Jindigar before the Imperial troops find them. Should she switch sides - again?

Settled in safety on the Dushau's secret planet of refuge, among other refugee Dushau, "Lady" Zavaronne, the first human to link minds with the Dushau and survive, must attend the Dushau Jindigar's wedding, but the local Hive Mind creatures attack the Dushau colony.

The long-lived Dushau are going into Renewal, the reproductive phase, and losing the ability to psychically shield the colony from the Hive natives. When the offworlder colony is over run by the Hive, Zavaronne and Jindigar must construct a new Hive mentality this world can accept before they all go insane.