The Cyrellians appear friendly, offering hope to a battered and devastated Earth. But three women soon make startling discoveries that could very well change the fate of their home world yet again. With the help of Cyrellian technology, Bella may soon hear for the first time. When she goes to their lab for tests, she finds herself sold off—as a pet in an alien zoo! Although she’s expected to mate with a “creature” of her kind, she can’t fight her attraction to Dar, the zookeeper assigned to oversee her training. Dar has a knack for dealing with the most unruly of the zoo’s pets. Still, he’s surprised at how like his people these new breeders are. Disturbingly he finds himself falling for the Earth being, even though he knows it’s wrong to mate with the pets. But when Bella tells him of the Cyrellians’ underhanded tactics, he risks his life on a daring escape. Will they find their way back to Earth in time to warn others of the Cyrellians’ devious plans?