The chance discovery of an injection that wards off age-related disease is hijacked by ruthless men who hunger for immortality, with catastrophic consequences. Two women race against time to stop them, before it's too late a chilling, prescient, high-stakes speculative thriller by the bestselling author of One.
'Combines the excitement of a medical thriller à la Michael Crichton' Guardian
'As tempting and tantalising a read as the vision of the future it presents' SciFi Now
Living forever can be lethal
Ruth is a law-abiding elder, working out her national service, but she has secrets.
Her tireless research into the disease that killed her young daughter had an unexpected outcome: the discovery of a vaccine against old age. Just one jab a year wards off age-related diseases, guaranteeing long, healthy life.
But Ruth's cure was hijacked by her colleague, Erik Grundleger, and his elderly billionaire backer, who hunger for immortality, and SuperJuve a premium upgrade was created, driving human lifespan to a new high. The wealthy elite who take it are the Supers, and the population begins to rocket.
Then, a perilous side-effect of SuperJuve emerges, with catastrophic consequences, and as the planet is threatened, the population rebels, and laws are passed to restore order: life ends at 120. Supers are tracked down by Omnicide investigators like Mara, and executed.
Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers, and she forms an unlikely alliance with Ruth to find Grundleger.
But Grundleger has been working on something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly surprise in store for both of them