Linsee Kang, a part-time researcher for Perennial 23, a start-up in South San Francisco, discovers that the company is hiding the true nature of its work. She contacts the media but is ridiculed. Shortly after, she is fired, shoved into a limo in front of the building by several advanced male humanoids, and awakens in the hold of a cargo jet.

She is transported to a remote facility in the Chihuahuan Desert in Northern Mexico, where the Superintendent has been bribed to keep her under wraps. But a new employee, is alarmed when he sees the guards mistreating her. As Linsee lies dying in an isolation cell, he rescues her. With help from a cargo loader and a security guard, they flee Temporan and arrive in Las Cruces, NM, taking refuge with the security guard's aunt.

Logan Quevant, Temporan's Superintendent goes after them. In El Paso, he hires a well-respected but unconventional private investigator, Elvyra Prezly and asks her to find his "relatives." Prezly quickly learns he is lying and returns his retainer. Quevant then hires PI Charles "Chuck" Paladino, a retired Marine Corps intelligence officer, and Elvyra's friend. Paladino doesn't believe Quevant either and returns the money. Elvyra senses Arroyo and Kang are in danger; a tip from her father leads them to the two, and Elvyra and Chuck work together to protect them.

While Perennial 23's top officers, both advanced AI humanoids, are sent to neutralize Linsee and retrieve the bribe they gave to Quevant, Chuck and Elvyra uncover a conspiracy that threatens almost every male on the planet. With time running out, they try to shield Linsee from harm, save Quevant, and prevent a catastrophe that could rip the fabric of society to shreds.

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