Ann Scobie

A middle-aged man afflicted with a sensation of floating seeks the curative powers of a mysterious alien healer.

In the year 2005, the prison system has been completely privatized and cyber prisons have become the new means for housing the guilty. The bodies of inmates are kept in suspended animation while their minds are kept in a virtual reality prison. Business tycoon R.D. Crowley has found a way to capitalize on these virtual prisons by allowing rich men to pay in order to engage in a form of virtual reality hunting that has real-life consequences for the inmates. Will, a guard at one of these prisons, soon finds himself coerced into one of these virtual cat and mouse games. Armed with his knowledge of history, along with his expert skills in VR combat, Will must work with the inmates in order to save their lives and escape from the prison before it's too late.

The story follows the main characters Rose, a comfortably lesbian woman, and Anthony, a decent progressive heterosexual man who serendipitously meet and then unexpectedly find themselves falling for each other. Rose has to navigate the reaction of her friends (they aren't thrilled) and her family (they are) while Anthony too has to deal with his friends who are equally nonplussed.