Micah and her enigmatic brother, Granite, are both manufactured people, grown in a lab, and a lot of people think that means they're not real, that they can't think or feel. Micah knows better, and she knows that her brother had feelings that run deep, which is why she's willing to help her fellow Science Officer and shipmate, Willy, who thinks her brother is the hottest thing around. Granite has no problem sharing his physical love with Willy, but he isn't sure about emotions. Micah has the opposite problem with the man she's learning the art of love from; Commander West has all of the old prejudices against manufactured people, and Micah isn't sure how to fight them. Can she and brother Granite both learn how to express their love the right way, before the dangers of intergalactic war overwhelms them?