After a divorce and a career change, Alex Clark is finding some normalcy in his life when he meets a strange man who weaves a story of aliens "seeding" the human population of Earth. He draws Alex into a competition that could determine the survival of those humans. Apollo of Helios and his twin brother, Ares - wealthy noblemen on the distant planet of Uor - have inherited the Earth from their father. The "Garden of Eden" - the name they gave the planet thousands of years ago - is tended by quantum androids that look like humans, but have incredible computing powers. The Uorians sent three "Gardeners" to Earth over 50,000 years ago with a stock of 9,000 frozen human embryos, which is the foundation for all humans on the planet today. The contest between Apollo and Ares spins out of control when Apollo runs afoul of the law on Uor, risking the family's wealth and power. Apollo must go into hiding in the "wild territories" of Uor, and Ares tries to draw him out by giving his support, and the Gardener he controls, to The Seven Great Families, a group of very dangerous extremist on Earth, who wish to replicate The Seven Great Families of Uor, where 30,000 years of rule by the "Families" has produced a regimented political, social, and economic structure that rewards the few who are born to nobility at the expense of the great majority. Now, Apollo seeks to end the rule of the Noblers and bring democracy - and the chaos that goes with it - to his world. At the same time, Alex Clark must find a way to stop the threat to Earth.