Threatened with war for the first time since entering into the galactic community, humanity receives an unlikely invitation to broker a resolution to the tensions. As Ambassador Boer begins her descent to the watery world of Thlassia, she carries a great burden with her. On her back rests the hopes and dreams of humanity as they chart their paths into the stars. Will she be able to show the galaxy the light that humanity wishes to shine with or will she instead reveal the dark core that rests at their center? The only thing that she knows is that the Terrarch, matriarch over all of humanity, has given her a secure a treaty. She just hopes that her inexperience will not cause her to drown from the weight that responsibility entails.