ZaraCorp holds the right to extract unlimited resources from the verdant planet Zarathustra as long as the planet is certifiably free of native sentients. So when an outback prospector discovers a species of small, appealing bipeds who might well turn out to be intelligent, language-using beings, it’s a race to stop the corporation from eliminating the problem, which is to say, eliminating the Fuzzies - wide-eyed and ridiculously cute small, furry creatures - who are as much people as we are.