The Habitat is the last bastion of humanity in a world destroyed by war and climate change. All aspects of life are tightly stratified and controlled, from what people read to what they eat. Every human being is also a resource, assigned to tasks that best suit their capabilities in the eyes of the Hegemony. It has to be this way, to manage desperately limited resources.Paul Rand's parents once dreamed of a better world, but he has been alone for a long time now, and he has never known any other life. Now he is about to turn sixteen, and he is due for his Assessment, which will determine the course of his future. He is about to come face-to-face with some of the Habitat's deepest secrets, and its darkest horrors. They are worse than he can possibly imagine.