A love that spans the galaxy—a bond that won’t be denied. The Cygnian people are facing extinction. Offspring are rare and almost all are male. Without hope for finding a soulmate and creating a family of his own, Nuar follows his crown prince on a strange mission to a primitive planet filled with sentients whose apparent fragility hides strengths he would never have expected. Lian Wei wants to keep working on her agricultural research without distractions. She’s one of the few Earthlings who know that aliens exist—and that they need Earth’s help to survive on worlds ravaged by overharvesting their resources. To make things worse, a new faction has risen in the galaxy determined to wage war. The Cygnians have been neutral in the battles up to now, but with their sudden and unexpected interest in Earth, there’s a chance at an alliance that could further protect the aliens Lian now calls friends. She wants to help, but when Nuar and his fellow Cygnian warriors arrive in her home town, she can’t seem to get a grip on her reaction to Nuar. Together, will they find a path to a better future for both of their people, or will their fears and preconceptions destroy their chance at a happy ever after?