The premise is that, in the very near future, when the aliens land, they choose an island in the American Virgin Islands. They claim they mean no harm, just need a place to stay for a while doing some research, and offer cures for deadly diseases in trade. Skip 5 years into the future and the situation is a tense co-existence. The Ynaa appear in human skin but are infinitely stronger and apparently impervious to physical harm. They also respond to any perceived physical threat--a growling dog, a drunken shove or verbal threat--with extreme and usually deadly force. The story loosely centers around Mera, the Ynaa ambassador, and her assistant and "bridge" to the local populace, 20-something year old Derrick. Derrick is fascinated with Mera and seeks more than a working relationship. He has always wanted to look beyond his own world, his own view, or the accepted norms of his society, and he sees Mera as a way to help him achieve that. But by his own people, Derrick is considered a traitor, and his grandmother forced him to move out of the house when he took the job. Mera has apparently been hiding out among the humans on earth in various guises for a long time, and there are flashbacks to the time of the Maroon rebellions in Jamaica in the 18th C., when she appeared as a slave. She has a fondness for humans and questions her own people's purposes and tactics, making her the subject of suspicion from the perspective of both groups.
Most of the reviewers I looked at consider this an analogy of the harms that come from colonialism. Some compare it to Station 11, which I liked. But, as I said, none of the characters were ones I cared about, and I just finished the book feeling empty.
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