Synopsis: In the twenty-third century, Earth has colonized planets of three stars. Pitcairn, the second planet of Tau Ceti, twelve light years from Earth, is the most successful. A peaceful world, isolated from Earth by its distance, Pitcairn is visited every twenty years or so by a supply ship crewed by new colonists who have endured the sixteen year trip. When the Asimov arrives, it brings change to a world kept static by Terran policy for two hundred years. To deal with the changes, the colonists will have to confront Earth, but first, conflicts rising within the colony will have to be resolved. This novel is the first in a series chronicling the growth of Pitcairn from a quiet backwater to an independent world defending itself against the manipulations of interstellar politics.