The moment you turn seventeen, they take you away.

In the grim dystopia of what was once New York, orphans are forcibly herded into "Youth Improvement Centers." There's one day every orphan looks forward to more than any other. Their seventeenth birthday, the day when they'll be whisked away to a better life.

But Ida Sarek knows better. The honey-coated promises are too good to be true. She yearns for the rough edges of the city streets and the companionship of the ragtag family she built among her fellow orphans.

They take her away like the others, imprisoning her in an underground lab. There, questions are met with punishment, and silence is rewarded with invasive experiments.

When despair threatens to break her, Ida uncovers an unexpected side effect of the genetic manipulation. A miraculous healing power pulses within her, as potent and baffling as it is empowering. Can she master this newfound ability in time to defy her captors and seize back her life before they shatter her spirit?
Fans of resilient heroines and harrowing quests for freedom, reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Divergent, will love Ida's courageous journey of rebellion and self-discovery. Book 1 in a complete 4-book series!