Darwin is a singer, and music is illegal--real music, anyway. The state-backed Wagner Initiative prohibits the practice of all non-educational forms of art. Darwin has worked for these jerks her whole life, singing about crosswalk safety and body odor, living with the WI's strict code of morality (no art for art's sake, no flashy clothes, and no massive rainbow-colored sock collections like the one hidden in Darwin's closet). When she finds out the WI may have had a hand in her father's death, Darwin starts asking questions. She explores the Private Library's dusty basement archives. She discovers rock and roll. She meets Brax, a handsome (if you like the rebellious type) double agent whose recurring disappearances give no clue whether his loyalty lies with the state or the resistance. Brax gives Darwin a media drive filled with illegal music--no bigger than a stick of gum, it's the most dangerous thing Darwin's ever touched. And once she presses play, she refuses to stop listening. Darwin flees Washington DC's gray skyrises for the underground, a network of basements, artists, and rebels prepared to fight--violently if necessary--for the freedom to sing, dance, write, juggle, or do whatever else lies in their hearts.