Abandoned and scared, but less alone than he could have ever imagined, Sam awakens to the screams of the other children on the island of Fervor, and the absence of all adults. To make matters worse, despite hearing this chaos in his head, he finds himself deaf to the normal sounds around him. His only answers are now being provided by a strangely charismatic boy named Francis who is about to lead Sam to a gathering that will alter his life. Why have things changed so drastically on the island, who is responsible for these changes, and what does this mean to the remaining inhabitants of Fervor?

The refugees from Fervor have made their escape from the island with Elliot Masterson’s help, only to find that there is nobody waiting on the Mainland to lead them to the sanctuary of Elevation as promised. Now they have to scramble to make their own way there, unassisted. At the same time, Elliot and the ex-Control, Royce, remain on Fervor with the Languorite, searching for Elliot’s nephew, additional children yearning for escape, and more answers to the puzzle that the scholars have created via their strange experiment. Will Sam and his friends reach Elevation and discover what has become of the latents, while evading capture by the scholars? Will Elliot find Malcolm and help others to reach freedom from Fervor, with minimal casualties? Only time will see if they achieve their objectives and eventually manage to reunite. It turns out, however, that time is not on their side.