Cooling Season is a sequel to the sci-fi novel Warming Season and a continuation of the Cygnus series. Cygnus is an exoplanet colony world founded in the year 2457 by pioneers intent on building a crucible for a new humanity. They chose 16 Cygni Bb as their colony site because its elliptical orbit produces hellish summers and frigid winters beyond those on Earth. Cooling Season takes place ten years after the Cygnan civil war left Cygnus split between the rival Spire and Peng-lai factions. James Fergus, a representative of the Sterzeis Gaming Corporation, struggles to keep order in Silver Falls, which is a pivotal city in the volatile Worldspine region. When James Fergus and a mysterious benefactor propose a new spaceport on the outskirts of Silver Falls, the project gains ground until an explosion in the depths of the Worldspine imperils the uneasy truce. The secrets buried under Silver Falls threaten not only powerful business interests but ordinary citizens like Peng-lai engineer Paul Goldman and his teenage daughter Kim or Spire Officer Deepankar Varanasi and his impatient nephew, David. Will Cygnus be the crucible of a new humanity, or the cradle of a terrifying future?