There's a hot new drug on the market, and it's creating a stir. Synth can induce bold hallucinations that are indistinguishable from reality. Sure, it's highly addictive, and no-one knows yet what the long-term effects are, but does that really matter when the buzz is this good? For Markus Olsen, Synth is the escape he needs as his life crumbles around him. His hacking career is in tatters, his friends imprisoned, and his skills traded in a plea bargain to the oppressive state he spent his life fighting to avoid his own jail sentence. His freedom is only nominal, as he is entirely at the mercy of his new employers. When Markus receives a mysterious credit card with no name and an unlimited balance and discovers a novel where he is the main character, he is forced to face his anarchist past and question how much of his present is real. What is being created by Synth? What can he believe? Is it better to live a lie of false comfort, or face the harsh struggle of reality?