An alien race cursed for an ancestral sin. Humanity on the verge of extinction after a plague. The Yin-Ra obey their Goddess and seek their Star-Bond mates. Humans accept what the Yin-Ra offer to save their dying bloodline. He is the Eldest Elder, bound by duty and obedience. She is a ceramic artist who would rather count the stars and choose her own fate. He is calm, ancient, and endlessly patient. She is fiery, independent, and determined to make her own choices. Then a fender bender, a spilled beer, and a strange throb in Zale's Star Lines bring them together. To Zale, Hera is the center of his universe. To Hera, Zale is just a surprisingly sweet, overly tall alien who signed up for her pottery class and desperately needs to learn how to loosen up. Zale keeps a secret. Hera refuses to let fate choose for her. But when a bond written in the stars begins to look dangerously like love, they will have to decide what matters more: what they were destined to become, or what they choose to become together. Some bonds are written in the stars. Love is still a choice.