If Tomorrow Comes (Yesterday's Kin Trilogy Book 2)

The second book in Nancy Kress's hard science fiction trilogy, based on the Nebula Award–winning novella Yesterday's Kin. Ten years after aliens depart Earth, humanity completes construction of the ship Friendship to follow them to their home world, Kindred. The crew includes scientists, diplomats, and Rangers for protection. Upon arrival, however, they discover an unexpected reality: no interplanetary civilization, no industrial infrastructure, and no cure for the spore disease they sought. A timeslip during instantaneous travel between worlds means far more than ten years have actually elapsed. Scientists race against time to save humanity and their alien allies from a deadly virus, while a separate military threat—equally dangerous to all—presents its own countdown. Against a backdrop of devastation and plague, the narrative explores heroism, sacrifice, genetic destiny, and the tension between predetermined fate and free choice.