As the story opens on Cygnus Beta, the Sadiri have just lost their home world and are faced with the daunting task of starting a new life on a planet that is vastly different from the one they knew. Oh, and there are so few potential mates for the Sadiri that they risk extinction as a people and/or the loss of their culture if they decide to mate with non-Sadiri. Enter Dllenakh--Sadiri representative/elder-- and Delarua--Biotechnician/Cygnian Representative. Dllenakh is tasked with mentoring/counseling the Sadiri on Cygnus, and Delarua is tasked with interpreting Sadiri needs and wants, providing them with hard truths and solutions to their issues. 
 I occasionally found myself feeling like I'd missed something in the details, but towards the end of the book, everything fell into the place nicely and I realized that the details I felt I was missing were details Delarua did not quite know or Dllenahkh had not quite revealed. It was all a part of learning along with Delarua as she grew in her understanding of the Sadiri and of herself. 
 Overall, great reading.