Two civilizations. One planet. No second chances.

Lieutenant Serenity “Siti” Kassis has trained her whole life for first contact missions, but nothing prepares her for this—arriving at a promising new world only to find it already inhabited by an advanced, spacefaring civilization. As acting commander, it’s her call whether to push forward or back away. One wrong move could spark a conflict neither side can afford.

On Lunesco, Quinn Templeton is expecting a quiet lunch with an old friend when the planetary defense system flags an unidentified ship in orbit. Since the revolution, she’s learned to negotiate, but first contact with an unknown species? That’s a whole new challenge.

Siti and Quinn could navigate mistrust, politics, and the weight of history to build something neither of their people expected—a future together. But they have to meet first. And something--or someone--is trying to keep them apart.