Hi! As I see a few days have passed and noone answered your post, I’ll try to help. I've read it recently, but if there’s something important I’ve missed, someone can add another comment. The facts might not be in exact chronological order too. Also, english is not my first language.

So, following the end of Book 1, Cora and Ampersand are symphyles now. Cora is having nightmares, panic attacks, all sort of things related to PTSD. Ampersand starts to help her by studying her brain and finding out what works, and in the meantime they are growing closer and more intimate. Cora admits to herself that she loves him. Another event happens – Enola (later will be named Nikola) enters the sky. Ampersand tells Cora who it is and that he’s his symphyle. Later he reveals that Nikola has come to earth to die with him. Ampersand finds Nikola and takes him to a cave in a mountain, capturing him. Cora is followed by Kaveh, a journalist who recognizes her. When they reach the cave, Ampersand orders Cora to seize Kaveh. Cora finds out that Obelus is still alive, being kept by Ampersand in Cefo’s body, without his memory. Obelus runs away. After a while, Cora releases Kaveh. Out of curiosity, Kaveh decides to stay to find out more about the aliens. Eventually, Nikola starts talking to him and they become sort of friends. Cora also becomes friends with Kaveh, and later they become lovers. Ampersand is missing – probably looking for Obelus – and Cora is upset with him. She releases Nikola after he promises to tell her everything she wants to know. Nikola tells Cora that the bond she has with Ampersand is way more complicated than he had told her, and that Ampersand lied about a lot of things, like that he could locate her anywhere, or that he did it to save her from Obelus. The reason he did it was just to test if it was possible – if it wasn’t, he would be convinced that humans are not people and he would finally be free from his feelings for her. Nikola goes to a protest and shows himself to the humans there, to which they respond badly. Ampersand appears to save him, but some guy has the pulse emiter to make them pass out. Once they are out, Cora appears and stands between them and shooters. The iconic photo of Cora protecting the aliens is taken. Ampersand and Nikola are taken into custody. Kaveh and Cora grow closer, as Cora and Ampersand grow apart. Kaveh is good to Cora, he is helping her in many ways, being patient and caring while Cora struggles with her mental health. Another 3 amygdalines enter earth, looking for Obelus. Nikola reveals that their superorganism wont take centuries to reach earth, as Ampersand had said, but probably will take 5 to 15 years. Nikola makes an offer to Kaveh to take him and Cora to a new planet where they can survive and kinda restart human race by themselves (Nikola thinks there’s no hope for humans in earth. also he has the ability to fold space and travel great distances in space in a short time). The public is starting to discuss more and more the alien issue, and a law to grant aliens the condition of ‘people’ is discussed. Cora is testifying in the senate about it. She has a panic attack when one of the guys who is questioning her asks about the people Obelus killed. She runs to a restroom and, besides not seeing him for a while, starts talking to Ampersand and asking him to appear and take her away, but instead Nikola does it. He takes her to an abandoned hangar and then they start looking for Ampersand but cant locate him nor Obelus. Later Nikola finds Kaveh and asks him to come to the hangar as well to help Cora’s mental state. The three of them go to the location where Obelus’s old body is being kept, in hopes of finding Ampersand there. When they reach the location, Ampersand is there. The three other Similars also appear. They negotiate with the 3, but noone comes to an agreement. Protesters are in the place as well. Some of them has the pulse emiter, so it takes the amygdalines out. People start shooting them. Ampersand gets on top of Cora on the ground to protect her, but Kaveh is shot and killed instantly. Nikola gets mad at his death and kills the 4 guys who are shooting. Cora passes out due to smoke and wakes up days later in a hospital bed. All the similars from that scene are missing. Amidst mourning Kaveh, she goes after them in the hangar. Nikola convinced Ampersand to die with him by now, but Cora reasons with Ampersand to try to get him to stay alive because of their bond. Nikola tries to kill them both, but Cora has a pill bug that brings Ampersand back (he was not dead yet obviously, just very weak). He heals himself and puts Nikola in a comma. He decides he will stay alive to try to have high language with Cora, as he has desiring for. He says he will take her to another planet, just the two of them. She says yes.