Welcome to the Wasteland. At fifteen, the citizens of Prin marry. At seventeen, they reproduce. And at nineteen, they die. And an early death isn't the only doom waiting around the corner. Everyone is forced to live under the looming threat of rampant disesase and brutal attacks by the Variants-hermaphroditic outcasts that live on the outskirts of Prin.
Esther thinks there's more to life than toiling at harvesting, gleaning, and excavating, day after day under the relentless sun, just hoping to make it to the next day. She doesn't care that her best friend, a Variant, is considered "the enemy." She doesn't care that Levi, who controls the Source, is the real enemy and might send his Taser boys after her if she makes one wrong move. She certainly doesn't care that her sister, Sarah, disapproves of everything Esther does--especially when Sarah's got a secret of her own. But when Caleb, a brave and mysterious stranger, arrives in town, Esther begins to question who she can trust.
As shady pasts unravel into the present and new romances develop, Caleb and Esther realize that they must team together to fight for their lives and for the freedom of Prin.
