In Union City, where superpowered vigilantes are celebrated as saviors, rebellious grad-student Brandon Carter sees them as anything but. Haunted by the death of his father at the hands of a masked "hero," Brandon's defiance might have landed him in a jail cell if not for his gift for physics.

At twenty-three, Brandon is on the precipice of success. Using his research, his team is just one test away from a world-changing scientific breakthrough-a test that nearly ends in catastrophe due to an "error" in the code.

With the project set for termination, Brandon throws caution to the wind, sneaking back into the lab to rerun the test in secret. But when a mysterious, powerful assassin attacks him and sabotages the experiment, a devastating explosion levels the lab.

Against all odds, Brandon survives, transformed in mind and body. With his life on the line and no idea who to trust, he sets out to uncover the truth behind the attack, gain control of his strange, new powers, and protect those he loves-even if it means saving a world that would label him a supervillain.