Pauli Yeager knew how to survive in deep space; as senior pilot for the battleship Amherst she had logged years of combat experience. But she knew she wasn't prepared for this new command.

Project Seedcorn was the last hope for an ambitious race. Humanity was embroiled in a planet-slagging war that promised a fast and final death. The small group of refugees hidden on the fringe of human-occupied space was ordered to live and be human.

The initial survey had shown no life on Cynthia, but there was life, intelligent life - huge graceful creatures with iridescent wings. They filled the sky with splendor and covered the ground with a legacy of horror. The simple command, live and be human, became a an epitaph. Survival depended on the children - human and Cynthian - and Pauli had to convince her people to commit a heinous crime or watch their children die...