New mother Panya lives in the perfectly controlled environment of Blocks 6-8, where all amenities are on site and goods are delivered by drone. Little Liber is perfect, their residence is fully enclosed, her world is regulated, sterilised, and safe.

Not that she'd tell anyone, but most of the time, Panya feels stretched to her limits. Isolated, failing to meet expectations, struggling to do the best she can. This is what she has to do to remain in this optimised community. It's the way she's told to take care of her child.

But Liber is struggling. She's refusing to switch to eating nutribulbs, like everyone in their community. And people are starting to ask questions. Her partner. The doctors. The authorities. Besieged by norms and expectations, what choice does Panya have? The consequences could break her world.

"A heartrending story that illuminates the flaws of every society as well as ourselves." -Ai Jiang, author of Linghun and A Palace Near the Wind

"A gripping, SFF must-read that pulls you screaming through its ultracorporate dystopia and then deposits you, shivering with relief, before the promise of a better world." -Stewart C Baker, author of The Butterfly Disjunct

"A harrowing extrapolation of today's societal trends. emma burnett lays bare an all-too-plausible future-and shows that, even in an entrenched corporatocracy, hope can still sprout in the margins." -Myna Chang, author of The Potential of Radio and Rain