Book excerpt: Already addicted to the pharmaceutical drug that keeps her body from decomposing, Bryn has to stop a secretive group of rich and powerful investors from eliminating the existing Returné addicts altogether. To ensure their plan to launch a new, military-grade strain of nanotech, the investors' undead assassin-who just happens to be the ex-wife of Bryn's lover Patrick-is on the hunt for anyone that stands in their way. And while Bryn's allies aren't about to go down without a fight, the secret she's been keeping threatens to put those closest to her in even more danger. Poised to become a monster that her own side-and her own lover-will have to trap and kill, Bryn needs to find the cure to have any hope of preserving the lives of her friends, and her own dwindling humanity.