Synopsis: On the planet Na-Dina, in Ancestor's Valley, the tombs of forty-one dynasties have lain undisturbed for six thousand years. But with the visitors from the stars has come progress, threatening the Valley and its treasures. The human archeologist Gordon Mitchell and his team from StarBridge labor to salvage whatever possible from the burial sites. Some of the Na-Dina welcome them. Some resent their presence and the delay they represent. Still, Mitchell intends to fully explore the wonders of the Valley. Then one of the team is brutally murdered. To investigate his death, Cooperative League of Systems Ambassador-At-Large Mahree Burroughs arrives, determined to find the killer at whatever cost. What she finds during her search will change her life, the lives of the Na-Dina, and the lives of every being in the CLS forever. (from the back cover of the Ace Books first edition)