First published 1975
George Sanford possesses an unusual gift for finding people, but he lacks almost everything else that matters in The City. While his childhood friends like Ahmed advance through school and land jobs, George fails tests and faces a future with no opportunities. When George encounters Ahmed, now a member of The City's Rescue Squad, he gets pulled into searching for a trapped girl. George locates her using his special talent, quickly earning respect as the Squad's unconventional consultant. His abilities grow stronger with each success, and he begins questioning the society around him. The real crisis arrives when revolutionaries steal knowledge from a missing computer expert, threatening to destroy The City. George rescues the man and confronts Larry, the brilliant but twisted young leader of the rebel gang. Larry poses questions George cannot answer, and after Larry escapes, George pursues him to continue their debate. But Larry captures George instead, turning his remarkable talents against The City itself. Now George has become the very thing the Rescue Squad must find.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, adventure, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: The City
Period: present-day
252 pages · Hardcover · Putnam/Berkley Publishing Corp. (NYC)