Verity, Pash, and Jeorj are among the inmates of a remote prison camp where misfits with promising genetic characteristics are held in reserve, away from a Society that the government doesn't want contaminated either with persons not meeting breed standards, or with unsanctioned thought - but on hand should scientists want to add some new blood to their human breeding programs. Until now, life has been one of general indignities and close scrutiny, but not quite close enough to keep them from secretly keeping several people hidden and alive despite government orders that they should be killed. But, thanks to some officials who want to try a radical new social experiment, everything is just about to change.