It is the near future: no children have been born for twenty-five years and the youngest person on Earth has just died. The human race faces extinction. Under the despotic rule of Xan Lyppiatt, the old are despairing and the young cruel. Theo Faren lives a peaceful life, until a chance encounter with a young woman, the last pregnant female on Earth, leads him on a desperate journey. Suddenly he faces great danger and agonising choices which could affect the future of mankind. 'The world was stunned today by the death of Diego Ricardo. The youngest person on the planet, the youngest person on Earth, was 18 years, 4 months, 20 days, 16 hours, and 8 minutes old . . .'