Anu, a harsh, mineral-poor planet, was last to be colonized and first to be abandoned after wars on earth had destroyed most science and technology. Centuries later, geneticist Dr. Mattie Mahan has come to Anu with an earth mission to recover plant strains long extinct on earth. To the crew's amazement, descendants of the settlers survive. They have become a strange patriarchal culture which refuses to negotiate with the Earth envoys unless they confine Mattie to the ship. Mattie escapes and hides among the women of Anu and "losos" - large, speechless primate "servants." She meets several young women, including Elizabeth, a talented artist. The small group and a loso travel by foot, by wooden train and helicopter to reach the mysterious East country, unaware that genetic engineers there are focused on a secret project that will dramatically reshape the very nature of the human race. Helen Collins integrates provocative biological extrapolation and an unsettling exploration of culture-driven imperatives with dramatic adventure in a compelling novel that engages and surprises the reader.