This dramatic love story is set after the Great Flood when the country
is divided between the safe, dry areas and those vulnerable to further
flooding. The country's population is similarly divided, with the Dry
forming the wealthy elite, and the Wet the working class scratching a
living in order to survive. A resistance movement arises from the Wet.
Nina is a Dry, the daughter of the Governor. In the last flood, her
school was inundated and her sister drowned, and she is now forced to go
to another school in the Wet area, under a false name. There she meets
Max, a Wet, and they become partners for a school project. At first
suspicious, they soon become fascinated by each other's worlds and start
to become friends. Yet, their situation is complex--Max's father died
during the last flood, and the Governor played a questionable role in
this, and Max's brother is a member of the violent resistance movement.
What will happen when Max finds out who Nina really is? The book rises
to a climax, through alternating chapters, one from Max's viewpoint and
the next from Nina's. A terrific debut from a promising writer.