Book excerpt: John and Janet Marshall are covert operatives on a mission to meet a strange alien race from a distant galaxy. When they arrive, they find themselves between two warring armadas bent on war. Their infant son, born in space, is killed in the battle, and the Marshall’s are forced to re-evaluate their plans. As they contemplate a future without their son, a being appears who offers a key to achieving galactic peace. The being, claiming to be a conduit to a supreme being, provides gifts for humanity that will change our destiny forever. From the futuristic recdomes of Canada’s remaining wilderness preserves to the complexities of interstellar diplomacy, this sprawling science fiction epic looks to the future to help understand our present.