In the aftermath of a devastating “technocaust” that saw the extermination of scientists, Earth’s government has banned technology. Most people unquestioningly follow the dictatorial edicts, which include governmental control over personal occupation, leaving little room for individual choice. Blay Raytee is leading a dismal life in a work camp for orphans when she is unexpectedly given a special mission to assist Marrella, a guardian of the environment. Marrella is in training as a bio-indicator, an elite position in which she will protect society from environmental toxins. Unfortunately, Marrella is unsuited to the academic demands of her post, whereas Blay shows an aptitude and thirst for knowledge. The more she learns, the more Blay finds herself questioning governmental statements disseminated as indisputable truths. She learns she’s not alone – others are working in an underground movement to restore the credibility of science and rediscover the positive uses of technology. As she uncovers large-scale facts about life on earth in this dystopic future, Blay unlocks unsettling secrets from her own past. (Ages 12–16)

In the year 2368, humanity struggles to recuperate from a technocaust that has left a generation of orphans in its wake. Strict government regulations convince people that technology is dangerous; confusion and fear rule the earth.

Blay Raytee is a government work-camp orphan. Her future seems as bleak as that of the world around her. But when she is chosen for a special mission by a guardian of the environment named Marrella, Blay begins to discover that all may not be as it seems. The secrets she uncovers could hold the key both to the healing of the world and to her own past. What she learns may just empower her to join those who struggle to restore democracy -- and to discover at last who she really is.

Master storyteller Janet McNaughton vividly imagines an all-too-believable future where one child's brave search for the truth could restore a broken world.