On the planet Shanji a ruthless Emperor rules a subjugated people. Kati, raised by the lower caste Tumatsin, is taken captive by the Emperor's troops, but saved by The Searchers, who see her as the promised Empress of Light, who can control the hot light of creation. But Kati's psychic powers can destroy a planet or star, and could be beyond everyone's control. She must decide how to use her powers when there is a planetary invasion from afar, led by a powerful Empress Kati thought was her friend and teacher. The barbarian girl must take charge of her own destiny, not only for herself but for Shanji and its neighboring worlds. Born with the heritage of two races, she must rule both of them.

In this sequel to SHANJI, Kati has used the light of creation to win a war bringing her to the throne as Empress of her planet, and she has forged new alliances with former enemies. Her daughter Yesui is born with powers exceeding her own, and Kati discovers that raising a super-being is no simple task. Yesui is willful and a prankster, enjoys torturing her baby brother Mengjai, who turns out to be much more than he seems to be. But Yesui is the true Empress of Light, and is later called upon to save a dying gaseous planet by adding mass to its core. She finds love with a gentle empath there, must help in resisting a coup that endangers his family. Along the way, she discovers there are living beings in the universe with powers even greater than her own, and that death is only a transformation to something new. Previous reviews for "SHANJI is rich in good things. Here is hard science with all the gorgeous colors of fantasy, and storytelling with the sweep of historical epic." -

This, the culminating book of the stunning SF trilogy that began with SHANJI and EMPRESS OF LIGHT, takes to its conclusion the tale of three generations of Creators. Kati, the light-wielding genetic changeling who saved her planet and became its empress, is now threatened with assassination. Yesui, the daughter who came to control mass as well as light, faces revolution and learns the uses of diplomacy. And Bao and Shaan, Yesui's twin daughters, take the lineage to its limit. Leaving our universe behind, they spin forth a radiant new creation.