One such vacco, the valuable "Corporate property" Hart256043, will escape. At an underground bar specializing in illicit sex and drugs, he meets Edgar Devereaux, a successful designer and adopted son of Joshua Morgan Devereaux, a member of the Corporate board. But Edgar has a secret: he was born Chris Turner, a lower-class renegade -- and can never shake his origins or a desire to retaste his wild youth. Chris and Hart bond. They discover within each other compassion, fulfillment, and a completeness outside the boundaries of "Corp" life. Edgar will reject his stepfather's lifestyle, and join with Hart to do anything -- including kill -- to ensure the vacco's survival. And Hart, one of the most appealing characters to appear in contemporary fiction, will find in the reborn Chris Turner the humanity he needs to survive.