When the slaves on the colony Yeowe (called "assets") overthrow the slave-holding class (called "owners"), theowners on neighboring Werel launch a war to preserve the master-slave society that undergirds the economyof both planets. Told from the perspectives of people caught in the crosshairs of the struggle, the stories inthis collection are linked by the character "Old Music," an Ekumen ambassador who is secretly working as anabolitionist and supporter of Yeowe's emancipation. Together they ask: What does forgiveness look like in aworld riddled by racism and caste?In "Betrayals," a disgraced revolutionary leader makes peace with his past. In the intersectional "ForgivenessDay," a female ambassador from the Ekumen struggles with the patriarchal culture of Werel, while "A Man ofthe People" tells the life story of a male Ekumen ambassador to Yeowe. "A Woman's Liberation" tells the storyof a woman who, after escaping to freedom, must reckon with the internalized racism that still enchains her.And finally, the story "Old Music and the Slave Women" braids the collection together and counts the cost ofjustice.