Criminal (Breeder Cycle)

Following the horrors she discovered in the basement of Sanctuary and her miraculous rescue at the end of Breeder, there is no longer any doubt in Pria's mind that the Unified World Order and their goals for humanity are wicked. But convincing the rest of the world will be another story. When it's revealed that the files she'd stolen from Sanctuary are worthless to the rebel cause, Pria and the other Free Patriots must scramble to come up with another way to convince the rest of the criminals to rise up in open revolution before the UWO's monsters hunt down and destroy them all. But Pria still knows so little about liberty and self-determination, and her tenuous grasp of human nature complicates her role in the rebellion as she finds herself torn between Pax, her ever-present protector, and Henri, her good-natured friend. As she works through figuring out her feelings, she becomes increasingly anxious for Pax, who displays symptoms of a disturbing ailment, even as he withdraws from Pria.

Free Patriots from outside Asylum bring with them a new plan to infiltrate the seemingly impregnable UWO machine, and Pria is once again at the center of the plan. This time, though, she must be willing to erase her identity, just as she's beginning to figure out who she is. It's a sacrifice she thinks she's ready to make to take down the UWO and save the world, but she has no idea just how difficult it will be.

Criminal follows Pria from the relative safety of Asylum, to the wilds of the mountains, to the ordered madness of Denver Commune, through the inner workings of her heart and mind, and straight to a shocking, inevitable revelation at the end that shatters her confidence in so much more than she's willing to admit.