Carl Marsalis is a Thirteen, the product of genetic experiments, a man created for combat in the final conflicts of the 21st century. But after the second civil war in the USA, after the split of North America into three states, after food riots and uprisings on Earth, peace came, and the Thirteens began to be regarded as dangerous mutants. Some were executed, a few went to work for the government, but most were exiled to Mars.
When a spaceship falls into the Pacific Ocean and mutilated, half-eaten corpses are found inside, the police conclude that one of the Thirteens has escaped from the Martian colony and that a dangerous psychopath, cannibal, and serial killer is now on Earth. His motives are unclear, his actions inexplicable, and his brutality unbelievable. Unable to find or even understand such a terrifying enemy, the police turn to a hunter of Thirteens—Carl Marsalis.
He does not yet know that this case is far from simple, and that the investigation will soon turn into a real nightmare. It will lead Carl across the whole brave new world and bring him face to face with questions about where the roots of human cruelty lie and whether it is possible to break free from the prison of one’s own genes.