Glory Season / David Brin

Young Maia is on the verge of a turning point in her life. As a half-caste child, she must leave the home of her privileged half-sisters and seek her fortune in the world. Together with her twin sister Leie, she searches the docks of Port Sanger for an apprenticeship aboard the ships that ply the trade routes of the Stratoin oceans. And on her perilous journey, she meets a traveller who has travelled an unimaginable distance – and who threatens the delicate balance of the Stratoins’ carefully cultivated, perfect society….