A thrilling new scifi by New York Times Bestselling Author Aaron Hodges. For centuries, our evolution has stagnated. Surrounded by technology, we ceased to adapt. Until now. In 2051, the Western Allies States have risen as the new power in North America. Now a mysterious epidemic is spreading across the countryside, igniting terror wherever it touches. But its victims do not die - they change. People call them the Chead, and where they walk, destruction follows. Amidst the wealth of San Francisco, eighteen year old Chris is caught in the cross-hairs of the government when his mother is accused of treason. Spirited away in the night, he wakes in a facility hidden deep in the Californian mountains. There he must face the horrors of the Praegressus Project. Chances of survival are slim; but only the lucky get to die...