Jodahs is a 29-year-old construct (a human-Oankali hybrid) who reaches the age of metamorphosis. Sexless at this stage, Jodahs expects to transform into a male but does not exhibit any physical signs. Instead, Jodahs experiences heightened sensory perceptions like the ability to detect water’s elemental atoms. Jodahs fears something may be wrong but keeps the changes hidden from its five parents: the humans Lilith Iyapo and Tino Leal, the Oankali Ahajas and Dichaan, and the ooloi Nikanj.

Jodahs’s family is a typical representation of a human/Oankali union. After arriving on Earth and saving the human survivors of nuclear war, the Oankali, an alien species with sensory tentacles, determined that humans are genetically doomed to extinction if they continue to reproduce unaltered. The Oankali heal humans of genetic conditions, lengthen their life span, and sterilize them. Humans may only reproduce if they agree to a gene trade and produce hybrids called “constructs.” The Oankali species have three sexes: male, female, and ooloi. As bioengineers, the ooloi are necessary intermediaries for sexual reproduction and use their bodies to assemble the DNA between pairs of humans and Oankali. Trading genetic information is the foundation of Oankali life. For the past century, Jodahs’s human parents have produced many constructs with their Oankali family.