Synopsis: The future is a strange and dangerous place. Chaz Kato can testify to that. He is a citizen of Xanadu, a near-future perfect society hosting the wealthiest men and women on future Earth. Along with his fellow citizens on this artificial island, Kato bears the burden of a dark secret that the outside world would be shocked to hear. Avid Minky, Kato's oldest friend, is a reclusive biological genius, who resides in the bizarre underwater village below the island. Grotesquely distorted by an array of cybergenetic gear, he surrounds himself with composite life forms - dolphins and white sharks with grafted arms and organic computer links. Lenore Myles is a student when she travels to Xanadu and gets herself involved with Chaz Kato. When Kato unwittingly lends her his access codes, Lenore stumbles upon the grisly truth behind Xanadu's glittering facade. Lenore, not knowing whom to trust, is soon on the run, hunted down by Saturn, a mysterious entity that moves aggressively to contain the security breach. With the interests of the world's wealthiest people at stake and powerful technology at Saturn's fingertips, Lenore is in a race for her life, against a truly formidable foe. (from the front dust jacket flap of the Tor Books first edition)