Seventeen-year-old Arun emerges from a fire, his memories and identity vanished with the flames. He finds a refuge and home with Janani, and soon he discovers his unique ability to sense and manipulate the minds of others around him. Intimately connected yet isolated by this insight, he inhabits a dangerous place outside conventional boundaries: man/woman, mind/body. When someone who shares his ability, Rahul Moghe, arrives on his doorstep, he senses a power beyond any he has known. Janani warns of the grave danger posed by Rahul and sends Arun on his journey, fleeing the one person who may have answers to the mystery of his past...

"Arctic Sky" tells of a young climate activist who discovers her own courage in the frozen depths of a Russian prison. "Palimpsest" is set on a bionic (living)space station that launches explorers into the farthest reaches of Time and Space. In "The Room on the Roof" an ancient culture meets modern mysteries with unexpected results. Our non-fiction title piece, "Utopias of the Third Kind," is a first look at actual utopias that are responding to our looming dystopian nightmare. "Hunger" is a short story that finds both understanding and forgiveness for humankind's original sin. Our Outspoken Interview and a bibliography round out this new collection.