Eade is a fourteen year old girl who has spent her entire life in space on the spaceship Cradle. Eade and her dad are on the return journey to earth when an explosion cripples the craft and seriously injures her father. As the clock counts down to self-destruction Cradle's computer, System, assumes control of the ship and refuses to perform the life saving medical procedure that her father desperately needs. Whilst trying to outwit System to save her dad, Eade discovers the shocking truth of her existence and must face her uncertain future armed with the knowledge that her life in space is not as it seems.