Every ending is a new beginning.
Mercy Island is a place of new beginnings. The seed biodome sits at the edge of Ulthia's public domes but isn't open to humans. The Myans who tend the dome don't take kindly to outsiders—whether those outsiders are Myan, Upper, or human.
The dome is a disposable one, created for Earth, to produce seeds and animals grown from the seed banks of Earth and help speed up the terraforming process. In its earliest form, the island produces algae, plankton, and the heartier species of the Northern Hemisphere.
Laura Smith applied for a two-month stay on Ulthia in a paradise dome as a honeymoon present. What she didn't know was that her wedding would never happen, imploding the day of because of a shocking revelation. Upon arrival on Ulthia, she asks for a separate vacation and is granted it, with some conditions.
The Myans of the Island have their own ways and are a tight-knit community, all sleeping in the same building. All except one.
Tev stays in Cottage B. He's not the sort of Myan male Ulthia advertises. He's gruff, a little nosey, and not afraid to retell stories Laura would rather he forgot.
It's the vacation of a lifetime, a chance to heal.