In a ruined world, mankind survives in a society that values intelligence above all else. Recent graduate Anna has earned an esteemed position working in genetic science, but risks it all smuggling restricted goods to her less fortunate foster sister. Anna is caught at the border crossing, where a militant guard promises he'll overlook her crime in exchange for slides of altered DNA she must steal from the lab.

When chaos erupts, Anna escapes into the depths of the city among an underground community with a revolution on its agenda. Now, not only is she a smuggler and a thief, but she's also a traitorous rebel. Her crimes have taken her further than she ever intended and out of touch with the sister she desperately wants to save.

Her struggle to make things right spins out of control when she collides with a man from the life she left behind. He hides powerful secrets. Convincing him to help her prevent the government from culling the people she's grown to love will take much more than the underhanded scheming she's relied upon in the past.