A rogue virus that kills pregnant women has been let loose in the world, and nothing less than the survival of the human race is at stake.

Some blame the scientists, others see the hand of God, and still others claim that humanity is reaping the punishment it deserves for years of arrogance and destructiveness. Jessie Lamb is an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl living in extraordinary times. As her world collapses, her idealism and courage drive her toward the ultimate act of heroism. Jessie wants her life to make a difference; but is she heroic, or is she, as her scientist father fears, impressionable, innocent, and incapable of understanding where her actions will lead?

2012 Arthur C. Clarke Award