Having been rescued, Remade, and returned to Freedom, Theron must now face a life without Nine. Though he's chosen to be a healer, he uses all the vices Freedom affords to try and dull the pain of losing Nine. But he can't find the peace he so desperately needs. Until he meets Catcher, a man who shows him the dark truths behind Freedom's Batcher program. From him, Theron learns what it means to be a leader and a father. When he falls in love with a captured rebel named Pua, Theron must choose: Freedom and its easy pleasures, or a life that is truly free but full of hardships and decisions.