The Sadiri are a race of telepaths whose homeworld is destroyed. The survivors are those who were off-planet at the time of the attack.
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A group of mostly male Sadiri is welcomed as refugees on the planet Cygnus Beta, which has been settled over the years by a mix of various cultures and races that include the taSadiri, a branch of the Sadiri. Hoping to rebuild their genetic and cultural heritage through inter-marriage.
Grace Delarue is a biotechnician assigned to serve as translator and liason to a group of Sadiri that are traveling around Cygnus Beta to various cities and settlements in search of good taSadiri stock. They need to genetically test for viable candidates and establish agreements with those willing to help their cause.
Over the next months Delarue accompanies the Sadiri Councillor Dllenahkh and a handful of other Sadiri plus a couple of local staff to one place after another, with varying degrees of success.
At a small village the genetics are promising but they run into a cultural shock when they find the villagers eager for warfare with a neighboring village. The next town has little of value to then except a potent drink that affects their mental abilities. After that they travel to a strange town full of taSadiri heritage but in which the locals have based their culture on ancient Faery mythology.
They travel on collecting genetic and cultural material and forge treaties with settlements willing to either welcome men into their ranks or send women to the Sadiri colonies. And along the way Delarue finds her own modest empathic abilities broadening, especially after a visit to a mysterious monastery. She also finds herself growing closer to Councillor Dllenahkh.
Things take an unexpected turn when the group visits an island with a strict caste system and Delarue discovers what appears to be illegal slave trafficking. The evidence she collects is compromised by her position as a government employee, and she is forced to resign in order to pursue a legal case.
Knowing the resignation puts her continued work with the Sadiri in general and Dllenahkh in particular in jeopardy, she is conflicted about her choice. But the Sadiri are not done with her yet.
Best part of story, including ending:
The initial genocide and refugee situation is an intriguing set up, but rather wasted on what turns out to be a fairly basic love story.
Best scene in story:
I liked the very first chapter, where Dllenahkh first hears about what happened to his homeworld.
Opinion about the main character:
She is actually quite annoying, giggles a lot and acts flighty. She is also ridiculously talented and too often referred to as such.
