This politically-intricate series takes place on the world of the atevi, a very violent species who keep the peace via registered assassination. Atevi alliances are complex and based on personal loyalties rather than on geography. There are several factions among the atevi, and the infighting among them seriously affects the relationships between atevi and humans. Before the first book begins, there is a war between the two species. The outcome is that the humans are confined to a large island and limit contact with the atevi via one, and only one human, the paidhi.
This particular book, second in the series, is about the return of the human starship Phoenix, after nearly five centuries, and how the return affects the delicate balance of power between the humans on the planet and the native atevi. The humans on planet are also factionalized, and political infighting is rampant. The paidhi, Bren Cameron, must deal with the situation quickly to avert social collapse.
If you like Frank Herbert's Dune and The Dosadi Experiment or C. J. Cherryh's The Faded Sun series, you'll like this series. It paints three divergent social structures and the interfaces between them. The alien society is the focus, and is rich in detail -- somewhat reminiscent of feudal Japan breaking into the modern age.

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I haven't read this book.
From the jacket:
Nearly 2 centuries ago the starship Phoenix disappeared into the heavens, leaving an isolated colony of humans on the world of the Atevi. Over the ensuing years this small colony of humans struggled to reach an understanding with their alien overlords. And an understanding of sorts had finally been achieved--allowing humanity to live in peaceful isolation on the island of Mospheira, while a sole human representative to the Atevi court, the paidhi, acted as official translator, trading bits of advanced human technology for the continued safety of his people. 178 years after its departure, the Phoenix suddenly returns, throwing both Atevi and human governments into crisis.
As the situation becomes critical, Bren Cameron, the brilliant, young paidhi to the court of...the Atevi, is recalled from Mospheira where he has just undergone surgery. His sudden and premature return to the mainland is cause for more than mere physical discomfort. For, unknown to him, during his brief absence, his government has sent in his paidhi-successor, Deanna Hanks...but her understanding of the Atevi is disastrously deficient, and her appointment signals the rise of a very dangerous faction on Mospheira--an archconservative element who hate the Atevi and who would do anything to get back into space... And though she should be recalled home when Bren is once again able to fill his post, no recall order comes...
Bren realizes his only hope may be to communicate directly with the Phoenix...as the spokesman of the Atevi--an action which may cut him off for good from his family, his home, and the whole human species. Yet if he doesn't take this desperate and illegal action, he may be forced to helplessly bear witness to the final destructio of the already precarious balance of world power.

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After being drawn into the first book, the second book continues the story of Bren-ji, as he struggles to find a balance between the good of mankind and the good of the atevi -- a balance that could tip and wipe out both of them.

Filled with similar intrigue and political maneuverings as the first book, this second book does a great job of keeping up the tension, while continuing both the main story, and the story of the myriad relationships that Bren has in the various atevi that surround him. Cherryh does a great job, and I'm looking forward to the third book.

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Brilliant! I love this series!

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The second book in Cherryh's "Foreigner" Trilogy (Foreigner, Invader, Inheritor) finds Bren Cameron, the sole contact between humans and Atevi, caught between the politics of his own people and that of the Atevi. And when you don't think things can get worse, add one human spaceship that nobody expected, and the shooting starts.
A recommended read, but read the trilogy in order.

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