When Zip reaches adolescence, his genetically engineered brilliance, creativity, and health slips away and he becomes an absurdly fast, frenzied annoyance who can't focus or hold still. Unable to live with his parents or hold a normal job, he joins a group of outcasts like himself in Chicago. They do what they must to survive.

When Zip is hired by a crime boss to deliver a small package, staying alive suddenly requires every bit of speed and concentration he can muster. In a world where all of his friends are criminals, who can he trust?