Bruce Sterling, named "one of the best thinkers in science fiction today" by Newsweek, now presents a cutting-edge novel about the beginning of the transformation of the human race. "Brilliant . . . fascinating . . . exciting . . . a full complement of thrills."—The New York Review of Science Fiction. In an era when life expectancies stretch 100 years or more and adhering to healthy habits is the only way to earn better medical treatments, ancient "post humans" dominate society with their ubiquitous wealth and power. By embracing the safe and secure, 94-year-old Mia Ziemann has lived a long and quiet life. Too quiet, as she comes to realize, for Mia has lost the creative drive and ability to love—the holy fire—of the young. But when a radical new procedure makes Mia young again, she has the chance to break free of society's cloying grasp.