Foreigner universe. Fourth foreigner sequence

Cajeiri, the young son of the powerful leader of the Western Association, has become a target for forces bent on destroying his father's rule. For Cajeiri is the first "ateva" youth to have lived in a human environment and the first of his people to ever truly understand the so similar--yet so dangerously different--aliens who share his home planet and threaten the hidebound customs of his race.

After the civil war among the alien atevi has ended, Tabini-aiji, ruler of the Western Association, and his son, Cajeiri, return to Bujavid and face threats from rebels who remain loyal to the opposition.