It is 2041, America has just been victorious in a third world war, and Mia Bishop has no idea she is the new guinea pig for Experiment XIII. At a time when prolonging human life still seems to be unattainable, a government agency located beneath a desolate Montana town secretly steals a life with the hope of saving millions. But Mia is oblivious as she takes an elevator ride underground for what she thinks is the first day of her new job.
Mia's first assignment is to carry a tray of food into a room devoid of anything but a strange-looking capsule. As a hand suddenly emerges from the device, Mia is frozen with fear. A chained man slowly reveals himself to Mia, and she realizes he is a slave to the contraption. Athen has spent twenty-seven years in solitary confinement at the mercy of curious scientists and a secret drug. But no one expects the government's clan-destine project to begin forming ideas on his own-especially the naive Mia, who is ignorant to the terror he is capable of instilling.
In this futuristic tale, as the drama of an underground experiment gone terribly wrong slowly unfolds, a man focused on pursuing a peaceful life in the real world is about to discover just how difficult it can be to make his dreams come true-especially when he is Experiment XIII."