Spinster’s world has been under alien attack for decades, or so the cult leaders have told her throughout her entire life, which has been spent in dark caverns below New York City completely unaware of the world above. Ever since she was a little girl, Spinster has dreamed of proving herself worthy enough to become a member of the Pilot Program so she can inherit the vast knowledge of the universe that is stored in the minds of the space whales that her cult worships.

But her father’s legacy stands in the way—he was banished to the surface years ago for refusing to defend the collective against the Knell, branding Spinster the daughter of a lily-livered chickenheart and making her chance of getting into the Pilot Program slim to none. Despite all odds and oddities, Spinster is determined – even if it means she must be as resilient as the collective itself has been against the alien threat that they believe destroyed Old Earth. And her accidental discovery in a long-forgotten cavern that connects to the New York sewer system might just grant her a way to claim the stars … whatever those are.