Dawn

Lilith Iyapo awakens from a centuries-long sleep aboard a vast spaceship belonging to the Oankali, an alien race. She learns that the Oankali intervened in human history hundreds of years earlier, rescuing survivors of a nuclear war from Earth and placing them in deep sleep. After studying Earth and its inhabitants, the Oankali restored the planet, eliminated cancer, and enhanced human physical capabilities. Now the Oankali ask Lilith to lead humanity back to their restored world—though this salvation carries significant conditions. The narrative follows characters as they grapple with adaptation during a time of fundamental crisis and transformation, examining questions of gender and race throughout.