Cinderella and Prince Charming. The evil stepmother and her sycophantic if somewhat malevolent daughters. A classic faerie tale with a happy ending that never gets old. Right? Not so...

"I think, therefore, I am. " -Renee Descartes What if there was a culture where philosophical thinking was not only admired, but demanded? What if in that culture, if you could not prove you could philosophically think, you would be executed on your coming of age day? Survival of the fittest, as it were - and then some. Iliana is a brilliant, type-A student. Not only is she expected to survive, but she is expected to succeed beyond most people's wildest dreams. However, her friend Chiara is exactly the opposite. A bubbly, blond by nature and brain, happy-go-lucky girl, her teachers, most of her peers, and even her parents waste no time on her because they don't expect her to live beyond her 18th birthday. What's worse is that Chiara -a deep thinker who reveals herself only to her friends - does nothing to dispel the expectations because she doesn't care. But Iliana believes Chiara can not only live, but beat the Test. That is, until the day Iliana discovers a secure government database that has lists. Lists that may command Chiara's future - and her own.