After escaping federal agents in Boston, the Wake family is living with Howard’s brother deep in the Maine woods. With a real home and room to expand, the family has added two new members—embryos created from Aurie’s eggs, in which she has awakened the god template. For the first time, life in hiding is peaceful; Howard and Jacqueline are busy with their garage lab, Aurie is taking care of the embryonic gods in their artificial wombs, and Py is engaged in a secret project with a colony of ants. But Py’s evolution has only just begun. As his ant project expands beyond his control, he faces questions of self and soul he isn’t ready to answer. These become pressing when the god in Py's genome awakens and the Wakes—young and old alike—are called upon to defend the human race. Aurie’s god chose to seed life on a distant planet, but Py’s god is here to stay—and he is intent on remaking the world and the humans in it.

Fans of Frank Herbert, Ursula Le Guin, and Gene Wolfe will love this continuing tale of what it means to be human ... and what it means to be a god.​