In a future world, only a few hydrospheres, like AotearoaNZ, have enough drinkable water, nearly all sold overseas. Alex is a mnemopath, a professional memory machine, at the main water trading bureau, WaiOra. Her job isn't noble, selling water overseas while locals die of thirst. But she needed a job, and the extra water allowance.

Her humdrum life, struggling to earn enough water to live, is upended when her great love comes back to AotearoaNZ, after fifteen years in China. Alex's world is transformed to one of excitement, danger and a relationship she has to hide.

Vividwater paints a disturbing view of the future where decades of drought have changed the face of AotearoaNZ, and the people who live there. But even in a society dominated by ruthlessness and thirst, there is still hope and glimmers of innocence. The echoes of the past that can redeem us live on in the most unlikely places.