In a world where perfection rules, Maxo Strang is king. He is a GemX, a boy genetically manipulated to be flawless. Nobody is better looking, more intelligent, of better social class...or more lacking in human empathy. Until Maxo discovers a wrinkle in his face. This can't happen to him! It happens only to the Dreggies - the wretched underclass of unenhanced 'naturals' who live outside the Polis. Terrified, Maxo begins a search for a cure. It is a search that takes him into the Dreggies' world, a place unbelievably different from his own, where violence, poverty and ugliness are routine. There, Maxo meets Gala and Stretch, Dreggies who are searching for their father who 'disappeared' while volunteering for scientific research in the city. For some horrifying yet compelling reason, he finds himself attracted to Gala. Gala and Stretch will do anything to find their dad, and Maxo may be the key. His father was the last person to see theirs before he vanished. Now, they will use Maxo to get some answers - whether he consents or not. What none of them realises is that they are all pawns in a bigger game. The city's Supreme Leader has plans - plans that will leave their lives hanging in the balance...

 

There are 320 pages in this book. This book was published 2006 by Oxford University Press .

Nicky Singer is an author and playwright. She has written a number of books for children and adults, across fiction and non-fiction. Her first children's novel Feather Boy won the Blue Peter 'Book of the Year' Award, was adapted for TV (winning a BAFTA for Best Children's Drama) and commissioned by the National Theatre as a musical.