On the planet Kwannon, the arrival of the “Last Hot Time” is no mere metaphor, but a terrifying biological and planetary certainty. As the planet approaches its orbital periastron, the intense radiation from its twin stars threatens to scorch the very life from the landscape. For the native Kwann people, the signs are unmistakable: the arrival of the Terran colonists and their “oomphel”—the miraculous, world-altering magic of human technology—is the final omen of the end of days.
Miles Gilbert is a man caught between two worlds. As a news editor for Kwannon Planetwide News, he has mastered the art of extraterrestrial sociography, navigating the delicate tension between the Terran military, the profit-driven plantation owners, and the native shoonoo, the powerful, amulet-clad magicians who hold the hearts of the people. As villages burn and civil unrest threatens to ignite a planetary inferno, Miles embarks on a desperate psychological gamble.