The Beginning

More than a decade ago, an attempt to develop a cure for grief went horribly wrong. The failed experiment left a scientist, then thousands of others, devoid of both conscience and emotion, and started a series of events so dire that the government assembled a top-secret organization to combat the problem. Sailor Vernon knows none of this. All she cares about is spending every possible second with her dying grandmother, until the morning after the funeral when a knock at the front door brings her face to face with the grown up version of the young boy who once nearly died trying to keep her safe. He takes her to an elaborate command center inside of an apparently abandoned building and tells her a bewildering true story. Then, he gives her a decision to make--join the organization defending the world from the personality-altering drug and those affected by it, or risk being dosed with the dangerous chemical and becoming one of them.