Jijo es un planeta prohibido, un mundo que se recupera lentamente de un grave desastre ecológico y al que, un millón de años atrás, los Buyur condenaron a permanecer cerrado a la colonización y al contacto interestelar. Sin embargo diversos grupos de seres inteligentes, a menudo forajidos o extraviados, han aterrizado en Jijo pese a lo decretado por la civilización galáctica, y han roto de este modo su aislamiento. Jijo ha alcanzado pues en este periodo de exclusión una compleja paz social intercultural, basada en la tolerancia y el respeto mutuo entre las siete especies que lo han ido poblando: los misteriosos bípedos hoon; los qheuens, con forma de cangrejo y con cinco patas y pinzas; los urs parecidos a centauros; los g'kek, dotados de ruedas impulsadas biomagnéticamente; los traeki, con sus múltiples personalidades; los gláver, involucionados a un estado de presapiencia; y los humanos de la Tierra, de más reciente arribo, que aportan la tecnología que permite el florecimiento de una nueva civilización. Siempre bajo la amenaza del inevitable Día de Juicio, cuando las Cinco Galaxias descubran esa colonia ilegal y prohibida, acontece de repente lo imprevisto: una nave estelar aterriza cerca del lugar que los pobladores de Jijo consideran más sagrado. La mayor aventura a escala galáctica está servida.

For the fugitive settlers of Jijo, it is truly the beginning of the end. As starships fill the skies, the threat of genocide hangs over the planet that once peacefully sheltered six bands of sapient beings. Now the human settlers of Jijo and their alien neighbors must make heroic—and terrifying—choices. A scientist must turn against the benefactors she's been trained to love. A heretic must rally believers for a cause he never shared. And four youngsters find that what started as a simple adventure—imitating exploits in Earthling books by Verne and Twain—leads them to the dark abyss of mystery. Meanwhile, the Streaker, with her fugitive dolphin crew, arrives at last on Jijo in a desperate search for refuge. Yet what the crew finds instead is a secret hidden since the galaxies first spawned intelligence—a secret that could mean salvation for the planet and its inhabitants … or their ultimate annihilation.

Winner of the Nebula and Hugo Awards, David Brin brings his bestselling Uplift series to a magnificent conclusion with his most imaginative and powerful novel to date—the shattering epic of a universe poised on the brink of revelation...or annihilation. The brutal enemy that has relentlessly pursued them for centuries has arrived. Now the fugitive settlers of Jijo—both human and alien—brace for a final confrontation. The Jijoans' only hope is the Earthship Streaker, crewed by uplifted dolphins and commanded by an untested human. Yet more than just the fate of Jijo hangs in the balance. For Streaker carries a cargo of ancient artifacts that may unlock the secret of those who first brought intelligent life to the Galaxies. Many believe a dire prophecy has come to pass: an age of terrifying changes that could end Galactic civilization. As dozens of white dwarf stars stand ready to explode, the survival of sentient life in the universe rests on the most improbable dream of all—that age-old antagonists of different races can at last recognize the unity of all consciousness.