The protagonist is Maya Andreyeva, a "camera" for a major news network in a 24th-century after the fall of a US world empire, where every nation is a third-rate power except hypertechnological Africa, which requires a blood test of aspiring immigrants.

The novel begins with Maya finding herself saddled with a new and problematic screener - one who appears to her only through the net, never in person, and who is a woman, contrary to all custom in her heterocentric dystopia.

The novel plays with a number of literary themes and elements, but can be broadly categorized as "postcyberpunk", i.e. science fiction dealing with the consequences of a drastically computerized and networked society, however with much more direct experience with IT and without thematic limitations of first-wave cyberpunk.

[1] The novel "mixes broad themes like homophobia, censorship and government surveillance with the shared intimacies and vulnerabilities of individuals who live outside the boundaries accepted by society"[2] and "explores the relationship between man and machine in an increasingly wired world.

Noted in one review as "a superb example of speculative fiction,"[2] the book was included in the Locus recommended reading list and nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel.