Charlie Spencer should not exist. She should have died in the explosion that started World War III. Instead, she survives and finds herself 1,000 years in a future where her very existence must be hidden. The world is still tainted with nuclear waste, causing sickness and death. The waste is also responsible for a small number of mutants whose presence seems to prevent and even cure disease. Charlie is one of these mutants, her DNA changed by a millennium of exposure to the waste. She may hold the key to restoring health to the planet and its people, but a corrupt government would prefer to keep that power for themselves. In a post-apocalyptic world where steampunk has become reality, Charlie has to learn who she can trust, and who might be out to kill her.