FiveCircleUp has to undertake one desperate mission after another to try and free his world of the human plague. He has to use skills no human has seen a keda use in hundreds of their generations. He has to overcome the resistence of his own kind on many occasions, though what he needs to do is for their own good.
The Pronna world of Om and one of it's prime individuals have to face the effects of what they've done when they are brought before the galactic council to answer for the spreading infestation of humans in the galaxy. Om wants to defend their discovery and use them to study the process of a species discovering technology, though they know even if all the Pronna worlds united they could not save them from the Rendor and maybe not even the Rikaviks. Even the Weineh grumble about a possible militaristic species nearly on their doorstep.
Oblivious to that, Esher finds the woman of his dreams on the way to a festival, and they spend two decades building and planning a wonderful life together. Their only problem, the tendency of their keda to stray on them. They never find out what he has in store for them until too late when all their plans are dashed.
Deep in the shadows of Om's floating forest, the vermin fear the painwall. But then they learn of a much grander destiny for their kind, and Nulf vows to achieve it.