Triptych

IN THE NEAR FUTURE, humankind has mastered the arts of peace, tolerance, and acceptance. At least, that's what we claim.

But then they arrive. Aliens--the last of a dead race. Suffering culture shock of the worst kind, they must take refuge on a world they cannot understand; one which cannot comprehend the scope of their loss. Taciturn Gwen Pierson and super-geek Basil Grey are Specialists for the Institute--an organization set up to help alien integration into our societies. They take in Kalp, a widower who escaped his dying world with nothing but his own life and the unfinished toy he was making for a child that will never be born. But on the aliens' world, family units come in threes, and when Kalp turns to them for comfort, they unintentionally, but happily, find themselves Kalp's lovers.

And then aliens--and the Specialists who have been most accepting of them--start dying, picked off by assassins. The people of Earth, it seems, are not quite as tolerant as they proclaim.

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"A stirring adventure, and a tender love story, from a first-time author who truly embraces the limitless possibilities the future may bring."- Lambda Literary

"Not only is this a wonderful story, but it's a wonderfully told story. (...) Beneath all the action and the drama, there are some big questions asked within the novel - the answers to which we're guided, but have to realise for ourselves. That's what makes a good science fiction novel memorable."-Bending the Bookshelf

"Debut author Frey knocks it out of the park with a remarkable tale of alien refugees, time travel, intrigue, the pervasive madness of grief, and love that transcends culture, gender, and species. Classic science fiction elements are smoothly updated for a modern audience."- Publishers Weekly, Best Books of 2011 & Starred Review

"Wonderful Canadian sci-fi about bisexual alien refugees on Earth, queer family structures, identity, and murder." - The Advocate, Best Overlooked Books of 2011