Keylan

Thirty-three years after global nuclear war, and the Earth is still in the grip of nuclear winter. No-one knows how long it will last, or how long THEY will last.

As if radiation, malnutrition and disease aren't enough, the people of San Patrice - the latest known settlement on the Ice Plain - must now face the threat of being picked off by a virus engineered to weed out the weakest elements; those with genetic disorders.

Returning from exile on the Plains, once-respected doctor and scientist Timal is doggedly determined to prove who is behind the mass-murders in his city - and to find his family, who he never should have abandoned.

And then there's Keylan. She doesn't remember where she came from, but she knows she'll do anything not to go back.

But how can you avoid something if you don't know what you're running from?