The colony planet Fremont is joyous, riotous, and very wild. Its grasses
can cut your arms and legs to ribbons, the rinds of its precious fruit
can skewer your thumbs, and some of the predators are bigger than
humans. Meteors fall from the sky and volcanoes erupt. Fremont is
verdant, rich, beautiful, and dangerous. Fremont's single town,
Artistos, perches on a cliff below rugged mountains. Below Artistos lie
the Grass Plains, which lead down to the sea. And in the middle of the
Grass Plains, a single silver spaceship lies quiet and motionless. The
seasons do not dull it, nor do the winds scratch it--and the fearful
citizens of Artistos won't go near it.
Chelo Lee, her brother Joseph, and four other young children have been
abandoned on the colony planet. Unfortunate events have left them
orphaned in a human colony that abhors genetic engineering--and these
six young people are genetically enhanced. With no one to turn to, Chelo
and the others must now learn how to use their distinct skills to make
this unwelcome planet home--or find a way off it. They have few
tools--an old crazy woman who wanders the edges of town, spouting out
cryptic messages; their appreciation and affection for each other; a
good dose of curiosity; and that abandoned silver space ship that sits
locked and alone in the middle of the vast grass plain.
