Grass

A devastating plague, known as the "Black Death," systematically extinguishes life across the galaxy, leaving only the enigmatic world of Grass untouched. Generations prior, humanity fled to this cosmic anomaly, developing a unique, aristocratic society deeply entwined with the planet's ecology, characterized by fox-hunting on alien mounts. However, Grass harbored its own complex, ancient civilization: the Hounds and their symbiotic, seemingly docile "pygmy hippos." Earth, desperate for a cure, dispatches Marjorie Westriding Yrarier, a skilled diplomat, to infiltrate Grass and unravel the mystery of its immunity. As Marjorie navigates the planet's bizarre flora and fauna, its ritualistic hunts, and its rigidly stratified human society, she uncovers layers of ecological and social complexity. Her investigation plunges her into a world where alliances are fragile, life is brutally precious, and the true nature of Grass's alien inhabitants — and their connection to the plague — begins to emerge. What Marjorie ultimately discovers is a truth so profound and shattering that it not only holds the key to galactic survival but threatens to redefine humanity's understanding of life, death, and its very place in the universe.