Estelle won, through imprisonment and protest, the right to a simpler life at the edge of bright glittering New City. She is a celebrity dissident, tolerated by the Congloms, acclaimed by the youth of the city, and living the life of her dreams. But to control her rebellion, the Oversee disappears someone she loves, and Estelle must head into the Beyonds and risk everything to save him. Along the way she learns of the dire cost fellow citizens are still paying for her defiancé.