Donald Maass Literary Agency

On a world where cake is a necessity, it takes the Grid to protect the civilized and the deaf from the dire influences of the ambient and to keep the chaotic Haosa at bay.

Having arrived at recently Dust-bound Colemeno, Trader Padi yos’Galan is essential to Master Trader Shan yos’Galan’s plan to recoup Clan Korval’s fortunes by establishing new routes for the clan’s tradeship. Shan’s inner Healer insists Padi come to terms with her as-yet unplumbed psychic abilities, which might place her in the top tier of dramliz, if she can learn control.

Padi yearns to concentrate on trade, but Colemeno’s fey ambient and deadly long-term politics combine to bring her face-to-face with the Haosa, and in particular with the mysterious and untouchable Tekelia, as Korval’s trade mission’s necessity of a port audit collide with a cruel history of murder, deception, and brutality. Amid the dangers, Padi unexpectedly finds herself eagerly exploring her dramliz side when faced with the unspoken powers of the ambient, the sky-filling energy of the ribbon dance, and Tekelia’s mutable eyes.

Dr. Renee Caisson never expected that her scientific expertise would lead to a role playing interpreter between humans and the demonic-looking Neighbors. When the door between their worlds opened, she was drafted by the government to study the otherworldly beings and was able to prove her theory: the Neighbors had been to Earth before—and now they simply wanted to save their dying planet.

At least, that’s the story, and everyone—both human and Neighbor—is sticking to it. The Neighbor in charge of the new portal’s operation, Noel, isn’t that sure anymore. Having succeeded in finding a new planet to inhabit, the leaders of her world have made the dark truth of their existence clear to her: the Neighbors forcibly tried to make a foothold on Earth in the past—and they can’t afford to fail again.

But the Neighbors’ ability to magically teleport from place to place has convinced Major Jackson that the only way to keep control of the situation is to embrace it and tell the world of the Neighbors’ existence.

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees.