First published 2002
Anthropologist Marghe Taishan arrives on planet Jeep carrying an experimental vaccine and a dangerous mission. Centuries ago, a lethal virus killed all the men in the original colony and transformed the surviving women in ways no one understands. Now a corporate expedition has come to exploit the planet, but their terrified forces abandon the workers when they encounter the same deadly pathogen. Marghe must live among the native women to test her vaccine, risking infection and death with every breath. As she studies their mysterious biology, she discovers the virus is changing her too. The longer she stays, the more Jeep feels like home. But Marghe carries something that could destroy the world she has grown to love. She faces an impossible choice between the life she knew and the person she is becoming.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, adventure, anthropology
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Jeep, Africa
Period: Centuries Ago, Present Day
432 pages · Paperback · Del Rey
Content warnings: violence