This is the debut novel of author Cheryl King. Her other work includes a collection of short stories, titled Rare Coins. In this dystopian future, corporations have openly taken control of the United States government, displacing the office of the President with a Council of Ten, supposedly equaling the ancient Greek ideal that a Senate of wise men are best suited to lead a nation. Indeed, the concept is idyllic. No more crime, no more homeless, no more pollution. Corporations provide housing in addition to employment, personal vehicles are unnecessary and cost-prohibitive. Everything is centralized. Everyone lives in a hub and works for one of ten corporations. But there is an ugly side to this supposed utopia and not everyone lives in a hub.Adam Miller was a teenager when the world changed. He believes in the good the Corporations do and is firmly convinced the process is still Democratic. His ideals are shaken as he rises higher within the Corporate hierarchy and his faith in the system is challenged when he meets and falls in love with a woman new to town, a rare enough event in this tightly controlled world now run by mega-corporations.