A man known as Hubert, Etc. finds he has no place in society except among the dregs of disaffected youth who party all night and heap scorn on those taking the morning commute. Falling in with Natalie, an ultrarich heiress escaping her repressive father, the two decide to give up fully on formal society--and walk away. Now that anyone can design and print the necessities of life--food, clothing, shelter--from a computer, there is little reason to toil in the system. It's still a dangerous world out there, wrecked by climate change and industrial flight. But when the walkaways flourish, more people join them. Then the walkaways discover the one thing the ultrarich cannot buy: how to beat death. Now it's a war that will turn the world upside down.