Angela Rae Cash (Tuttle)

When disaster strikes his home world of Arra, Eä sets out into the void of space seeking gold - a vital ingredient - in a last-ditch plan to save his planet. He discovers the precious metal on a small, water-rich world that is the third in a modestly-sized solar system. Mining requires labor, so Eä looks to the planet's most advanced species, a bipedal ape. Through genetic manipulation and breeding, he creates a race capable of retrieving gold. When his laborers begin to chafe under the yokes of slavery, Eä realizes he's created much more than a workforce.