The Path

In America, August 2057, life is simple.

There is no poverty. No violent crime. No war. Humanity has found renewed purpose. Guided by artificially intelligent personal assistants and absorbed in the endless pleasures of virtual social worlds, most people are content with the new national order ushered in by The Path. Citizens follow their personalized Life Tracks without hesitation. Harmony prevails.

But not everyone is convinced. To a small group of skeptics, The Path is less salvation and more surveillance. Every movement is tracked. Every choice, influenced. Behind the curtain of ease lies the Federal Department of Efficiency and Compliance-enforcing strict adherence through reeducation, social punishment, and, in some cases, unexplained disappearances.

Jolem McKay, a sharp but solitary high school senior, has always felt out of sync with the world around him. Like a transplant from another time, he struggles to adapt to a system that stifles individuality and discourages original thought. Despite warnings from family, friends, and school officials, his doubt only grows. And when a suspicious event shatters his sense of reality, Jolem becomes obsessed.

Now locked onto a thread he can't let go, he follows it deep into a conspiracy too powerful to ignore-and too far along to escape. He's always questioned the truth behind The Path. But what if truth itself is the most seductive illusion of all?