SPECIAL LEATHERBOUND EDITION. FIRST NOVEL OF MULTIPLE NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR ERIC FLINT, creator of the hugely-popular Ring of Fire alternate history series. A crumbling alien civilization fights to stave off a final fall into barbarism, and human explorers must chose: will they help, or standby and let a once high civilization fall.On a dangerous planet, a crumbling alien civilization fights to stave off a final fall into barbarism. What's more, a human expedition has arrived to churn the mix even further. In a world where caste and mating are genetically determined, one male and female rebel, chosing to pair bond and stay together. Their love will either determine a new pattern and way forward for their species -- or they may become the last of their kind.
