WINNER of the Philip K. Dick Award for BEST Science FictionIn a near and mildly dystopic future, Francine has finally been freed from years of undiagnosed pain--a recent surgery has provided relief. Her subversive "Theory of Bastards," which has unseated public figures and past presidents, has proven fruitful for other scientists and rewarded her with a generous grant and a prestigious placement at The Foundation. Now she is spearheading further research on a group of remarkable animals, bonobos. Her steady, significant progress is interrupted when windstorms sweep up out of the abandoned places and her colleagues retreat to safety. Francine and the man she has come to love stay behind to weather the storm, protect their simian research subjects, and continue the work, as a new and better future begins to emerge from the dust.Audrey Schulman has once again written a spellbinding, original novel that never loses sight of its humanity.