A strong heroine is made, not born. Though Careen Catecher survived a terrorist attack when she was nine, her childhood ended on that awful day. Now, nine years later, she's ready for her life to truly begin. A full scholarship to a prestigious university far from her beleaguered home quadrant seems like a dream come true, but when she arrives on campus, she's perceived as a charity case, despite grades and test scores that prove she's the academic equal of the best students there.Careen knows she's tough enough to survive just about anything, but fitting in with her acquisitive peers - at least on the surface - is necessary if she's going to leave the past behind and claim the stable future she craves. But her past won't stay buried. She's only been at school for a few weeks when a cryptic message from an unlikely friend raises questions that may put her in danger all over again.