Eighteen-year-old Jarra has a lot to prove. After being awarded one of the military's highest honors for her role in a daring rescue attempt, she finds herself-and her Ape status-in the spotlight. Jarra is one of the unlucky few born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Derided as an "ape"-a "throwback"-by the rest of the universe, she is on a mission to prove that Earth Girls are just as good as anyone else. Except now the planet she loves is under threat by what could be humanity's first-ever alien contact. Jarra's bravery-and specialist knowledge-will once again be at the center of the maelstrom, but will the rest of the universe consider Earth worth fighting for?