Molly Birch has everything a poor City girl could want: an apartment with her own bedroom, two living parents and a boyfriend. But none of it is stable when the anonymous Government dictates all aspects of citizens' lives, from food and medical care access to the number of children couples can have and who can marry.
Molly is sixteen and now old enough to apply for a Courtship with her boyfriend, Gavriel Kingsley, so they can legally date and get married. However, things don't go as planned following their application and medical tests on Clinic Day. The fallout leaves Molly's world shattered, and she makes a desperate and dangerous escape from the only life she's ever known.
On her journey, Molly makes new friends, discovers her dad's secret past, learns her heart's true feelings and finds out how to make a difference in the City for everyone.