Swänn et Liz are pursued by Skuälls poachers, responsible for the death of the Hamilton family. Swänn confronts the realities of the war and readies himself to announce the news of the casualties to their families. And yet, there is hope for Liz. In the meantime, on Näkän, debates about funding for the Renaissance expedition continue and, oddly enough, Skuäll diplomacy takes on an usually important role. This masterful volume concludes the first story cycle in this gripping series.
Swänn and Sätie were born on Näkän, a major planet in the Complex, a federation of extraterrestrial civilizations. The young couple hoped to live a peaceful life in an environment where nature and technology coexist in balance. But they are forced to mobilize when the leaders of the Complex decide to launch a vast expedition to save a planet that has exhausted its resources: Earth.
Emissaries from planet Näkän are heavily invested in an altruistic mission: saving a dying Earth and its inhabitants from a tragic end. Humans around the world, mesmerized by the extraterrestrial technology and the hope it brings to their planet, have so far shown little resistance to the mostly pacific invasion of their homelands. But other aliens involved in the undertaking appear to have less noble intentions for the blue planet...
Three willful women: one old wicked, one young and selfish, and the third in the prime of her life. A man murdered three ways: stabbed, bludgeoned, and drowned in a stream. The mystery brings brash young Inspector Laurenç to the postcard-perfect Norman village of Giverny, home to Impressionist Claude Monet's gardens and studio. Like any small town, Giverny has its secrets. But have they to do with greed? Lust? Missing paintings? Jealous husbands? Laurenç soon finds himself head over heels for a pretty schoolteacher-and in over his head. Dider Cassegrain brings Michel Bussi's bestselling novel to life in lush, delicate watercolors worthy of the famous canvases that lend the book its name: Monet's immortal Water Lilies...
Swänn and Sätie, originally from the planet Näkän, have now been living on Earth for twenty years. They belong to the medical and military staff of Renaissance, the expedition financed by the Complex to rescue the Earth from ecological disaster. Most communities now live in harmony with their extraterrestrial saviors, while others have withdrawn into human enclaves in autonomous zones, where Swänn and his kind aren't welcome. More troubling for Renaissance, however, is the terrorist opposition that is quickly gaining steam, throwing a wrench into the gears of the benevolent occupiers. They will soon see that these humans are ready to do whatever it takes to get the Complex out of the solar system.
On April 5th, 1514, a mysterious noblewoman leaves a newborn bearing only an unusual golden necklace at the gates of the Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise, France. Named "Cinq Avril" by the cooks who care for him, and taken under the wing of another resident of the castle, a certain Leonardo da Vinci, the child grows in energy and knowledge as he's instructed in a multitude of secrets. When his mentor dies, the young man discovers a posthumous letter explaining that he has the power to change the course of history if he can unravel the enigma of his birth.
History is made with the first human expedition to another galaxy, under the guidance of Renaissance. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Liz explores the foothills of the Andes in a desperate search for Swänn, hoping to find him in one piece. An ocean away, in London, Hélène and Sätie follow the trail of a forbidden experiment: the creation of human-Näkän hybrids. Three expeditions, three paths that will lead to the discovery of the greatest threat ever orchestrated against humanity and Renaissance...
In a distant future lives a young woman named Blanche. She's the heiress of Cocto Citadel, a neofeudal city like those that arose after the end of the world... When Blanche and her father find themselves at the center of dramatic power struggles, it's in the heart of NeoForest, the Great Central Forest, that everything must be decided.