Overview

Ambassador Edward Goldstein has made mankind's first contact with an alien race. The Kitar are friendly, but Novo Kitar is far from Earth, and some do not welcome the news.Tensions between the Western Alliance and the Eastern Bloc are increasing. For two centuries, the Western Alliance enforced peace through its monopoly on the Stenhouse technology used to power starships and provide cheap, clean energy to the world. But the Eastern Bloc has developed its own Stenhouse capability, emboldening its leaders, who see possible Kitar technology as a threat.To convince Earth's people that the Kitar are not a danger, the Western Alliance asks Ambassador Goldstein to bring two Kitar to Earth, but the situation is rapidly deteriorating.The Eastern Bloc has attacked Japan and made plans to prevent Ambassador Goldstein from returning to Earth while factions within the Western Alliance plot their own response.