CHARLES THATCHER is a private citizen, which is to say that he's the private property of the Ackerman Brothers Securities Corporation. He's got problems: the cost of air is going up, his wife wants to sell herself to another corporation, and his colleagues are always trying to get him tossed into the lye vats.

But when he discovers a woman stealing rainwater, he sees his chance to move up in the world, maybe even become an executive. He reports her, painting a picture, not just of a thief, but of a seditionist and revolutionary, someone who believes in that long-dead institution called "government."

When she suddenly vanishes, he fears the worst and begins trying to track her down. What he finds is a nightmare far worse than he'd imagined-that his report on her may actually have been right.

Now engaged with a small rebel group, Charles learns about life outside his corporation. But in a world where everything is for sale and lies are more profitable than the truth, he begins to wonder if even these revolutionaries have something to hide.

Nick Soutter was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife and their two daughters. His works include From Inside the Mirror, Twin Mirrors, and Killdroid Rising