With the recent completion of the human genome project, speculation on future genetic research has run wild. Most people fear what might happen once humans have the ability to create perfect children. What will it mean when the human race no longer has to deal with natural imperfections-when science can be used to eradicate disability, disease, unique features, asymmetrical faces? But little attention has been given to the other possibility of such research: what will happen now that the human race may have the ability to create perfectly imperfect children? The research industry-and the human race-may never be the same. Brilliant pre-med student Amoreena Daniels needs money desperately. Her mother is dying of metastatic cancer, and the medical insurance has run out. When told of a new cancer study that offers some measure of hope for patients in her mother's condition, Amoreena is thrilled-until she realizes that the treatment will cost $30,000. When a seemingly legitimate women's clinic offers Amoreena $50,000 for service as a surrogate mother, Amoreena thinks her prayers have been answered. But then-much too early-her baby begins to move. The strange dreams, another surrogate's mysterious death, and a drug-addicted former medical intern confirm Amoreena's worst suspicion: there is something terribly wrong with her pregnancy. Amoreena embarks on a dangerous journey to uncover the truth behind the endless battery of genetic tests, sonograms, and frightened patients, only to discover that she has unwittingly become a pawn in a high-stakes game of biomedical experimentation. In the tradition of Robin Cook and Richard Preston, Alan Nayes has written an absorbing, terrifying novel about what happens when human beings have the ability to save countless lives-by changing the face of humanity.

Author Biography

Alan Nayes was born in Houston and grew up on the Texas gulf coast. After attending medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, he moved to Southern California where he divides his time and energies between medicine and writing. The author of five screenplays and the critically-acclaimed biomedical thriller, "Gargoyles, " he holds a U.S. Patent and trademark. An avid outdoorsman and fitness enthusiast, he is one of only a few individuals to ever swim across Wisconsin's chilly Lake Winnebago. When not working on his next project, he enjoys relaxing and fishing at the family vacation home in Wisconsin.