Little Mice

If a citizen fails to find a suitable objective, one will be assigned.

Sixteen-year-old Astra Fairwood has lived in the Canopy Complex her whole life, sheltered from grimy ground society by Founder Nathaniel Hall's haven in the clouds. By virtue of elite medical technology -- regular plasma infusions provided by a legion of beneficent donors whose sole purpose is to aid members of the Assembly in living long, healthy lives -- those in the Canopy exist without sickness, disease or the telltale signs of ageing.

Thanks to her father's job as Chief Enforcer, Astra and her sister Lucile have nothing but parties, social events, good careers and eventually, roles as dutiful Assembly wives to look forward to. But when a tragic turn of events sees Astra stripped of her Assembly status and transported to the Donor Zone, where she will spend her days donating plasma for her once-friends and allies, she is forced to confront the very fabric of the society that Nathaniel Hall has created.

The Founder claims that the Zone provides a safe, nurturing environment for those who would otherwise run rampant and purposeless, the criminals and dregs of society, but when Astra is forced to live amongst the very people she has been taught her whole life to fear, will she begin to see cracks in the Canopy's plasma-filled foundations?