The suzerains are unable to resolve their internal power struggles and begin scheming against one another. Fiben Bolger begins to fear that Earthclan's well-known naivete at Galactic punctilio could imperil the entire neo-chimpanzee population, both on Garth and on Earth. Some of the key neo-chimpanzee characters are eventually forced to choose between following the legal representatives of the surviving Planetary Government, or to follow their original leaders, Robert Oneagle and the young Tymbrimi Athaclena. Many of the major characters fall in love and must weigh their personal feelings against patriotic duties and greater responsibilities. There is a confrontation between Fiben Bolger and Irongrip, with the fate of all of neo-chimpdom hanging in the balance, as the Gubru attempt to co-opt the uplift of the neochimpanzees in order to make profit from the hypershunt. In the end, Uthacalthing's joke succeeds beyond his wildest imaginings, with Uthacalthing being as much in the dark as those he had been trying to fool. The partially uplifted gorillas come forward as Garthlings and claim their place as aspirants... Under the Thennanin, with Humans and Neo-Chimpanzees as their observers (races tasked to ensure that uplift is not mishandled or abused). The Gubru are ejected from Garth, and as the book comes to an end, Uthacalthing's maneuverings have brought desperately needed assistance to Earthclan and its allies out on the starlanes, as the Thennanin and their allies join the conflict on Earthclan's side.