In a world where procreation is a chore and addiction is killing the population, Franny Murphy is forced from the only home she's ever known upon her youngest daughter's eighteenth birthday. The Separation, whereby those bearing and raising children are sequestered from the rest of the population, is the Law.

She becomes addicted to quench, a deadly and readily available depression medication, and then fights to recover. It takes years to build a life for herself and her lover, Matt. Rooted on Earth Satellite One, she struggles with a jilted lover and her estranged older offspring, who'd chosen child-free lives.

The High Council President grooms her as his successor, yet seeks another successor among her children and her jilted lover. She takes a one-way trip to the Moon Colony hospice, to care for Matt, who'd only pretended addiction recovery. Granted all-access as a resident, she broadcasts her plea for change as Athena, the voice of the Resistance.