In 2002, the world changes forever. Every man, every boy, every mammal with a Y chromosome everywhere on Earth suddenly collapses and dies. With the loss of nearly half the planet's population, the gears of society grind to a halt, and a world of women are left to pick up the pieces and try to keep civilization from collapsing entirely. The "gendercide," however, is not absolutely complete. For some unknown reason, one young man named Yorick Brown and his pet male monkey, Ampersand, are spared. Overnight, this anonymous twentysomething becomes the most important person on the planet - the key, it is hoped, to unlocking the secret of the mysterious sex-specific plague. For Yorick himself, the most important person on the planet is 7,000 miles away - and he will stop at nothing to find her. But with an entire ocean still standing between them, chances for a reunion are fading - and new threats are closing in from every side.
