Life in the Colony of Saint Philomena is all Clare Conrad ever knew, all there ever was to know. Nothing lived outside the colony’s protective walls. Nothing could live in the desolate wasteland covering the planet Valentine. The Colony was safety and prosperity. Disease, famine and all the self destructiveness of man long abolished. All lived for the betterment of the Colony.
For Clare this meant a pre-chosen destiny. Her home chosen for her, a job chosen for her and soon a husband chosen for her. All for the betterment of the Colony.
Through a mysterious trick of fate, Clare finds herself marooned outside the colony walls, lost in the inhospitable wastelands. The life chosen for her is gone. Every minute outside the wall is a struggle for survival bringing Clare closer to a truth hidden from her in the Colony. A truth, that if she makes it back, will shatter everything they thought they knew about the world outside the Colony Walls.