The series centers on the descendants of a ship lost in transit from Earth en route to found a new space station.

It consists of a series of semi-encapsulated trilogy arcs (or sequences) that focus on the life of Bren Cameron, the human paidhi, a translator-diplomat to the court of the ruling atevi species.

A brief preamble to the first book describes a system failure that leaves the faster-than-light colony ship Phoenix stranded in a far-flung reach of space, without any idea of how to get home, completely unable even to locate Sol in the visible stars.

Phoenix is carrying colonists and equipment to establish a new space station to extend Earth's interstellar trade empire.

The Pilot's Guild, comfortable with the power it has accrued during the emergency, and stripped of its best elements by the battle to refuel, has become oppressive and oligarchic.

Man'chi is not merely a cultural construct, but is an intrinsic drive, a natural instinct to follow a leader, and is therefore a difference between the two species that cannot be bridged.

In the aftermath of the war, the atevi government abandons the island of Mospheira to allow the establishment of an enclave for the human colonists.

The first eight books of the series are told exclusively from the viewpoint of Bren Cameron, the paidhi at the time of Phoenix's return.

Starting with the ninth book, Deliverer, occasional passages are told from the point of view of Tabini's young son, Cajeiri, as he grows into maturity.

As with many of C. J. Cherryh's novels, this series could be best described as anthropological science fiction, focusing on the interface between our human customs and understandings and that of an alien species whose motivations, thoughts and even feelings are diametrically opposed to our own.

It also contains elements of political thriller, with the complex racial and cultural interplay between humans and atevi, and between ship crew and colonist.

[7] Four books in the series have been shortlisted for the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel: Foreigner in 1995,[8] Invader in 1996,[9] Defender in 2002,[10] and Visitor in 2017.