The year is 2148. The United States is no longer the leading world power, and has limited its population to the maximum established in the Beijing Agreement a century earlier. It is a noble effort, one designed to preserve not only the earth, but all humankind dependent on a healthy world to survive. However, the most crucial responsibility to assure that the laws are followed and administered fairly is a task that falls to the Department of Population Control. And yet, there are always those dissenters who want change.