Time is money-literally. Neural chips meter every heartbeat, and the Conclave sells those minutes back at crushing interest. When a rag-tag resistance topples the system, Halcyon blossoms overnight into a ledger-free paradise of rooftop gardens, singing wind-towers, and shared breath.
Or so they think.
A subtle glitch exposes the truth: the "revolution" is a manufactured memory loop called Arcadia, designed to pacify rebels while their real bodies lie sedated in vaults, lifespans siphoned to keep the elite immortal. Malik Razeen, Maya Alvarez, and hacker Arin Vahl have just 02:59 minutes of true time left-barely enough to wake their cohort, sabotage the chronoton harvest, and confront a world far harsher than any dream.
But freedom comes at a steeper price than they ever imagined: which memories are worth rescuing, and which victories were always just bait?
The Price of Time launches an electrifying saga of fabricated utopias, found-family courage, and the fight to reclaim every stolen second. Perfect for fans of Scythe, Neuromancer, and Station Eleven who crave big ideas wrapped in break-neck suspense.