Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards.

"An exuberant celebration of excess set in a resource-poor but defiantly energetic twenty-first century."—The New York Times

"A richly absorbing tale—with a marvelous premise expertly carried out."—Kirkus Reviews

"Excellent. . . . Dark and witty and full of love, closely observed, and sprinkled with astonishing ideas. Science fiction of a very high order."—Greg Bear

"One of the most imaginative accounts of futuristic bioengineering since Greg Bear's Blood Music."—Locus

In a future London, humans photosynthesize, organics have replaced electronics, viruses educate people, and very few live past forty. But Milena is resistant to the viruses. She's alone until she meets Rolfa, a huge, hirsute Genetically Engineered Polar Woman, and Milena realizes she might, just might, be able to find a place for herself after all.

Geoff Ryman is the author of the novels The King's Last Song, Air (a Clarke and Tiptree Award winner), and The Unconquered Country (a World Fantasy Award winner), and the collection Paradise Tales. Canadian by birth, he has lived in Cambodia and Brazil and now teaches creative writing at the University of Manchester in England.