Coveted Redolence ( #Wattys2017 )

The earth as it was, was long gone. Persistent pollution and dumping of wastes had turned the earth into a wasteland. Humans and other beings had gradually evolved to survive in the harsh condition. The one thing that was omnipresent on earth was the stench. It smelt of death and decay everywhere and although the human nose had evolved enough to ignore the stench, all that the human hearts craved for was to smell something good. During the process of evolution, the human skin also became sallow and parched, and started to emit a terrible odour. So, it didn't come as a surprise that the old normal had become the new unique. Any child that was born normal was either kidnapped, sold or sometimes killed out of jealousy. Then a strange occurrence began. Some were born with unique "gifts". Their skin glimmered in light and their body emitted the sweetest of odors that the human hearts had ever witnessed or craved for. These humans turned out to be high valued individuals (HVI) and were sold or traded widely in the black market. The rich loved to hoard HVIs and flaunt them. Violence had taken a turn for the worse and entire earth had turned into noman's land. No borders separated people, nor did any government rule them. It was a world full of predators. The definition of beauty, fashion and food had been re-written down the course of time. Freewill had become subjective and slavery was the norm.

Alika was unfortunate enough to be born in this world! As she grew up, she realized she was one of the so called HVIs.

The book follows her journey as she faces multiple challenges on her way to join the resistance, which fights for the HVIs, and wants to establish a just ruling system.