Across interstellar space, settlers find lethal sickness on an ocean world. And unexpectedly, an alien society tied to deep traditions. Will this planet ever become home?

Mired in guilt, pilot Trey Jackson isolates himself from settlers who fear to explore their new world. But a second generation is coming of age, and a teen recruits him to her secret study of the planet's pseudo-whales. She offers Jackson hope... until a ferocious creature leaves them marooned on the aliens' shore.

There, in a seafaring village, mystic Zahra sacrifices happiness to shield her childhood home from a chieftain's brutal raids. If she fails to renew her waning power, her family will fall prey to his vicious ambitions.

When Jackson seeks Zahra's help returning home across the deep-water strait, he's drawn into her desperate gamble. Will one lonely old man become the hero everyone needs?

For hopeful science fiction with mutual first-contact, travel to a faraway frontier in Chronicle of an Alien World. Find adventure on a distant planet with relatable heroes and fascinating situations.