Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity. With human science advancing daily and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations are learning to coexist peacefully as equals without the terrible threat of mutually assured annihilation. But the truce has also made humanity complacent. Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the early twenty-first century, awakens from hibernation in this new age. She brings with her knowledge of a long-forgotten program dating from the beginning of the Trisolar Crisis, and her very presence may upset the delicate balance between two worlds. Will humanity reach for the stars or die in its cradle?