Note: Alesdra Pontokouros, liason officer for the Inter-Galactic Communications (IGC) ramjet Galactic Rose lands on Marah to sell the inhabitants of Marah a "shuttlebox", a device that will allow instantaneous travel to the other worlds. The "shuttlebox" re-appears in Deadly Silents.

Synopsis: From the back cover of the Del Rey first edition The women - served, bred, and obeyed - never questioning the dark Divine Will that yearly claimed the lives of their sons. The men - ruled, meditated, and sired - if they survived. That was the way it had always been on Marah, where a deadly virus attached young males and left only a few to reach maturity... the way it had always been until a beautiful and forceful Terran female landed and began asking questions - and a devoted, true-believing Shepherd named Jared began having doubts!