Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and John W. Campbell Award winner Joe Haldeman has given the world such science fiction masterpieces as The Forever War and Forever Peace. Here he tells the tale of Carmen Dula's six-year journey through space to the home of The Others, where she represents Earth in hopes of forging a peace accord. But due to Relativity, 50 Earth years have passed since Carmen left. And while humans have been busy constructing an enormous flotilla of warships, The Others possess power and technology far beyond anything Earth can imagine. '. important and entertaining .'-Library Journal