A tale revolving around a small island community cut off from a rapidly deteriorating outside world, blending myth, mystery and science fiction to mine the human condition and the nature of truth. A small portion of the human population survives on a hidden island nation—until one man begins to realize that the truth isn't what it seems.

Life on the island archipelago of Prospera is hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. Founded by the mythical genius known as the Designer, Prospera's citizens have monitors embedded in their forearms to measure their physical health and psychological well-being. When the percentage falls below 10 percent, they retire, embarking on a short ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.

Proctor Bennett, Managing Director of the Department of Social Contracts, is a ferryman, shepherding the elderly through the retirement process—and, when necessary, enforcing it. But Proctor has been dreaming, which is supposed to be impossible, and his monitor percentage has begun to drop. Then he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.

The Support Staff, who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors of a resistance group known as 'Arrivalists' who may be fomenting revolution.

Proctor finds his fate entangled with a cause bigger than he realized, and the world he inhabits is shattered. He finds himself questioning everything he once believed on a mission to uncover the truth.