Los Angeles, 2019. Large sections of Tinseltown are in Richter-scale ruins in the aftermath of The Pulse and a devastating earthquake. Surviving among a ragtag pack of street kids, agile as a cat, and an expert thief, Max Guevara/X5-452 steals from the rich and gives to Moody, her mentor in crime and leader of the gang. But with no real family to speak of, Max longs for her missing "brothers and sisters" from Manticore, the covert agency with a sinister history of militaristic manipulation and control. By chance, Max sees a news story on TV about a dissident cyberjournalist in Seattle, known to everyone as "Eyes Only." The police are searching for his accomplice, a young rebel whose image flashes on the screen. Max immediately recognizes Seth, one of her Manticore siblings. She mounts her