Life for Hannah Cooper has always been straightforward, having been raised in Erudite, the smartest of the factions, she believes in the eradication of ignorance as the way to prosperity. Then it comes time for her aptitude test, a day in which all the new faction members must choose a way of life. Like her peer, Beatrice Prior (of whom this story will loosely follow), she has a decision to make, one that will change her life.. forever.