It was clear to everyone that the public schools were failing. The causes were varied: increasing parental absence, a negative peer group influence, and a sexualized media-driven marketplace. It is the year 2024. "Dormant Enhancement" has become the law of the land. All children on their twelfth birthday are required to enter schools that use individualized cubicles to receive uninterrupted programming and to avoid negative pressures from their peers. They "graduate" on their 16th birthday. A superior education is provided for each individual, and the young person's attitude is altered to fit the dictates of the parents and society. This is accomplished through constant subliminal programming that takes place in an individualized cubicle. In every way the students are superior to their counterparts of the previous century, and the nation is delighted with the results. Sharon's husband has just died. They had been living on their ranch in the Australian Outback where they raised their two boys, Eric, 12, and Brock, 8. Sharon's parents have invited her and the boys to return to live with them in Carmel, California. She accepts, not realizing that Eric, who was born in the U.S. just before they moved, is required to enter DE. When she fights to keep her son out of the system, she makes a discovery that puts her life and the lives of those she loves in danger.