Nine hundred thousand years ago, something wiped out the Amarantin. Maybe it was pure bad luck that their star chose to flare just when they were on the verge of discovering space flight... or maybe luck had nothing to do with it. For the human colonists now settling the Amarantin homeworl Resurgan, it's of little interest, even after the discovery of a long-hidden Amarantin city and a colossal statue of a winged Amarantin. But brilliant, ruthless scientist Dan Sylveste will stop at nothing to get at the truth - even if it costs him everything. The Amarantin were wiped out for a reason. And danger is closer and greater than even Sylveste imagines...