In a society where "perpendiculars," opposite-sex couples, are forbidden, persecuted, freakish...Chris Bryant, a preacher's son, finds himself in love...with a girl. Chris has always been faithful to his Anglicant religion - even though he's never felt like everyone else, never felt...parallel. And then it happens: he meets her. Carmen. Daughter of one of the leading Perpendicular prosecutors...the girl he knows he can't live without. Carmen has always thought the treatment of Perps is barbaric - but to actually be one? To fall in love with Chris and openly admit to it is suicide. Their only chance to be together is the Underground, a secret society Chris's sister introduces him to that is determined to mount an attack against the social restrictions of the Anglicant church. They want to make an example of Chris and Carmen, two Perps from high social families, to become the catalyst for an uprising that will threaten the traditions of their society's families and church. But the cost of involvement just might be death for them both.