Lila Ceneri has had a difficult childhood; she lost her immediate family and feels lost within her own community, particularly when her uncle is relucant to return from the Giud'e , the mysterious enforcers of the Republic. When he does return, he brings back Zara- his partner- and Benoni- a sad little boy who left the Giud'e . Lila desperately wants to make her new family work, but when her uncle leaves Benoni on another planet, she begins to realize that maybe family doesn't mean the bonds made by blood...