Lyra’s and Gemma’s stories can be read separately—with either story first—or in alternating chapters, but no matter which way you turn the book, the two distinct stories combine into one breathtaking experience for both heroines and readers alike.

Like its ambitious companion novel, Replica, this far-reaching novel by powerhouse bestselling author Lauren Oliver digs deep into questions of how to be a human being in a world where humanity cannot be taken for granted.

GEMMA

After discovering the uncomfortable truth about her connection to the Haven Institute, Gemma struggles to return to her normal life. But when she learns that her controlling and powerful father has new plans for Lyra and Caelum, Gemma and her boyfriend, Pete, leave in the middle of the night to warn them of the danger they face.

When an accident strands them on the side of the road, they are mistaken for the escaped replicas and seized by strangers hired to capture them. Driven to a teeming facility housed in an abandoned airport, Gemma comes face-to-face with the hundreds of replicas who survived the explosion on Spruce Island. The Haven Institute wasn’t destroyed after all, and now Gemma is the one behind the walls.

LYRA

In the world outside the Haven Institute, Lyra and Caelum are finding it hard to be human. Though free from the guards, doctors, fences, and probing experiments, they feel more trapped than ever. Lyra, infected at Haven with a terrible disease, finds her symptoms are growing worse. Caelum regrets their escape. And neither of them knows where they belong or who they can trust. Even Gemma, who swore to help, seems to have forgotten them.

When Caelum leaves without warning, Lyra follows him, seeking a pioneering organization in Philadelphia that might have a cure for the illness that is slowly consuming her mind. But what they uncover is a shocking connection to their past—even as their future seems in danger of collapsing.