The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Butler, Octavia. Dawn. Hachette Book Group, 2021.

In the wake of a global nuclear disaster, a woman named Lilith Iyapo awakens in a strange room. She is aware that she is being held captive, because she has been awakened at other points and communicated with only by way of a speaker in the ceiling. At one point, she awoke to discover that she shared a room with a young boy named Sharad, but he is absent now. Lilith discovers that her room is also occupied by a strange, grey, tentacled extraterrestrial being. Over the next several days, Jdayah teaches Lilith to be comfortable with his appearance before taking her out of the room and showing her the rest of the ship on which he and his people, the Oankali, reside. While showing Lilith around, Jdayah explains that the Oankali want to help recolonize Earth, but that they are also interested in coexisting with human beings, interbreeding, and altering certain aspects of the human genetic code to make them more likely to survive.

Jdayah introduces Lilith to his family which includes two Oankali that are called “ooloi.” Ooloi are gender-neutral and serve as arbiters in Oankali partnerships. Jdayah and Tediin’s ooloi is named Kahguyaht, and their ooloi child is named Nikanj. Lilith is paired with Nikanj so that they can co-tutor one another. After some time, Nikanj gives her the ability to open and close the walls of the ship, and she uses this power to explore the ship in an attempt to find another human being. When one of these journeys goes awry, Kahguyaht scolds Nikanj and explains that some genetic changes will need to be made in Lilith, which she reluctantly consents to. As a kind of reward, Kahguyaht and Nikanj find a man named Paul Titus that they believe Lilith might pair well with. When she arrives at Paul’s apartment, though, Lilith realizes that he believes she is there to function as an object for his sexual pleasure, and resists him when he begins trying to force himself on her. Lilith is removed from Paul’s chambers, restored to health, and placed in charge of nursing Nikanj while it grows to sexual maturity. Once this process is complete, Kahguyaht explains to Lilith that she is going to be placed in charge of training a new generation of human beings.

Lilith is given control over a single chamber, which she can manipulate to serve her needs, and is instructed to wake up forty human beings, who will later be taken to a simulation of the Earth’s surface so that they can learn to survive. After much thought, Lilith wakes up a woman named Tate Marah, and they become close friends. Lilith is initially hesitant to awaken any men, as she is afraid they will foment violence, but she eventually awakens a man named Joseph Shing, who quickly becomes her closest ally. The process is not entirely smooth, though; two of Lilith’s wards in particular, Peter Van Weerden and Jean Pelerin, are skeptical of her authority, and believe she is serving as both a jailor and a “whore” for their extraterrestrial kidnappers. After being forced to use physical violence against Jean, Lilith retreats to her room, and is followed by Joseph. While he comforts her, Nikanj appears in the room so that Lilith can have another human being near her who understands what the Oankali are. Sensing a romantic connection between Lilith and Joseph, Nikanj—somewhat non-consensually—initiates an Oankali form of sexual contact between them, connecting their passions intellectually instead of physically.

Though Joseph is initially displeased about the encounter with Nikanj, he gradually grows to accept the situation and enters an openly romantic partnership with Lilith. Van Weerden’s followers become increasingly bold. One of them attempts to infiltrate the cabinets where food appears and goes missing. Another attempts to rape a woman. Lilith is forced to break Peter’s arm. This event precipitates the arrival of the Oankali, who drug the humans’ food and appear before them. As the humans pair off into romantic couples, the Oankali—all ooloi—lay claim to those couples. Because they are in a drugged state and the ooloi have seductive powers, all of the humans at least tacitly consent to these sexual arrangements and become bonded with their various ooloi. However, Peter cannot handle the shame of having his autonomy taken from him, and lashes out at his ooloi, who accidentally kills him. These events prompt Joseph to tell Lilith that Peter and his followers may have been right, and that the Oankali cannot be trusted.

The humans are placed on the training floor, and begin to learn basic survival skills. Eventually, they begin to leave the main camp and explore. Lilith is initially reluctant to do this because she feels attached to Nikanj, but her friends—including Joseph—convince her to try. While they are exploring, their group is apprehended by several of Peter’s old followers, who have rallied around a man named Curt Loehr. They knock Lilith unconscious, and when she awakens, she discovers that Curt has killed Joseph with an axe. The Oankali enter the training floor and, along with Lilith, apprehend Curt and his followers. A fight ensues between the Oankali and the humans; once Curt is subdued, he is taken away and placed back in suspended animation. Lilith loses much of her resolve; she has no human allies, and the only other being she feels close to is Nikanj. When the day arrives for the humans to return to Earth, Lilith is not included; she panics and demands to know why. Nikanj explains that she has become pregnant with its and Joseph’s child as a result of their sexual encounters, and that she must remain on the ship in order to raise it. A listless and defeated Lilith allows herself to be taken away by the aliens.