This volume contains two stories—recently unearthed and never before in print—by Octavia E. Butler.

“A Necessary Being” takes us into the heart of an alien culture with a rigid hierarchical system based on caste and skin coloration. With the arrival of visitors from a distant mountain tribe, the society known as the Rohkohn finds itself faced with the sudden prospect of profound social change.

In the second story, “Childfinder,” the title character is a woman who uses her psychic abilities to track down children with similar nascent abilities—and protect them from the abuses of a predatory society.

Includes an introduction by Nisi Shawl.