bestselling author Peter F. Hamiltons riveting new thriller combines the nail-biting suspense of a serial-killer investigation with clear-eyed scientific and social extrapolation to create a future that seems not merely plausible but inevitable.

A century from now, thanks to a technology allowing instantaneous travel across light-years, humanity has solved its energy shortages, cleaned up the environment, and created far-flung colony worlds. The keys to this empire belong to the powerful North familycomposed of successive generations of clones. Yet these clones are not identical. For one thing, genetic errors have crept in with each generation. For another, the original three clone brothers have gone their separate ways, and the branches of the family are now friendly rivals more than allies.

Or maybe not so friendly. At least thats what the murder of a North clone in the English city of Newcastle suggests to Detective Sidney Hurst. Sid is a solid investigator whod like nothing better than to hand off this hot potato of a case. The way he figures it, whether he solves the crime or not, hell make enough enemies to ruin his career.

Yet Sids case is about to take an unexpected turn: because the circumstances of the murder bear an uncanny resemblance to a killing that took place years ago on the planet St. Libra, where a North clone and his entire household were slaughtered in cold blood. The convicted slayer, Angela Tramelo, has always claimed her innocence. And now it seems she may have been right. Because only the St. Libra killer could have committed the Newcastle crime.

Problem is, Angela also claims that the murderer was an alien monster.

Now Sid must navigate through a Byzantine minefield of competing interests within the police department and the worlds political and economic elite . . . all the while hunting down a brutal killer poised to strike again. And on St. Libra, Angela, newly released from prison, joins a mission to hunt down the elusive alien, only to learn that the line between hunter and hunted is a thin one.

Praise for

A mesmerizing page-turner. (starred review)

A gripping saga that blends wilderness survival, police procedural, political and social intrigue, and dynastic sf into a mammoth tale featuring believable characters and exceptionally skilled storytelling. (starred review)

A perfect introduction to [Hamiltons] gifts for character design, dialogue, and sheer, big-idea-driven storytelling. (starred review)

Compelling and original . . . an awesome novel [with] plenty of action.SFRevu

One very compelling and entertaining science fiction novel.SF Site

Simply brilliant . . . an astonishing achievement.Tor.com