In the year 2084, Chloe Olivier is accused of murdering her husband, a crime she believes she did not commit. Convicted, she faces a life sentence, yet not in any prison, for in this dystopian future, there are no prisons. In the draconian world of the Incorporate States of America, every aspect of a criminal's life is monitored and controlled by a behavior modification chip placed in their brains. So no need for prison walls; the convicted can walk the streets freely. And yet, they are never free, for a series of faceless 'warders' and automated AIs keep them in line. For Chloe, who had been a major celebrity prior to her husband's murder, this new life is a nightmare. Forced down into the depths of criminal servitude, her existence seems bleak, and yet, one day hope arrives that she believes might clear her name and reveal the reality of her husband's death. And that hope is contained in the very chip that resides within her head-a chip that she discovers is much more than she, or her oppressors, expected it to be.