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?