Set in Bujold’s Vorkosigan universe, this independent novel follows a doctor as he braces himself for his initial encounter with that most alien of aliens-a feminine of his very own species.

Dr. Ethan Urquhart is definitely chief of biology at a District Reproduction Middle. He delivers babies from uterine replicators. You see, on Athos a couple of no women. Actually, the planet can be forbidden to them. Isolated from the galactic community by distance and a lack of exploitable resources, the Athosians possess peacefully resided their peculiar interpersonal experiment for just two hundred years. But now, the ovarian cultures dating back to the original arrangement of the planet are offering. With the future of Athos at stake, Ethan is selected on behalf of his cloistered fellows for a distinctive objective: to brave the wider world in mission of new ovarian tissue cultures to replenish Athos’ dwindling stocks. On the way, he must tangle with covert operatives, killers, telepathy, interplanetary politics, and-perhaps most disturbingly-an indomitable woman mercenary named Elli Quinn.