It was widely acknowledged that Taza Sullivan had a hole in his heart. Not a literal hole, but the shadow imitation of one; it stretched the breadth and depth of that unspoken space, the seat of his soul. The hole remained despite the many blessings sprinkled like rose petals, like cherry blossoms, all through his life: firstborn of a sovereign, alight with power, handsome and charismatic and smart. And even though no one had been able to foresee what, exactly, was needed to fill that gap within him, she did exist-a millennium before Taza was even born. *** November Duval lives in a scientifically elegant world where the advances in technology are destroying the earth, even as the corporations promoting them assert they will save it. She considers herself an ordinary girl with an extraordinary problem: she's been exposed to a highly contagious, manmade disease: Tuberculosis Type Three. Eventually, it will kill her, and millions like her. There is no cure. Yet Ember's given a second chance at life when she wins a coveted ticket to the Time Train: the most innovative, sophisticated spaceship ever built. Along with a few of the richest, most powerful people in the world, the train will speed Ember into the future-all the way to the day her disease is cured. At least, that's what's supposed to happen...