On her way to excavate ancient sites on a backwater planet, Archeologist Nosuma Okande finds more of them than The Institute has on record. Unearthing the sites proves more of a challenge than she realizes.
On her first day she digs up an odd statuette depicting a human woman giving birth. After death threats are made against her, the Institute sends Nosuma to another excavation site, where she unearths a second statuette - one with the head of a monkey. Later that night she witnesses a strange ceremony in the village square.
Nosuma is determined to unearth the mysteries the planet holds. As a deeper truth slowly emerges, she must untangle the enigmatic past of an Edifice Abandoned.