In this captivating tale, a scientist pioneers a rejuvenation technique, transforming an older woman into a stunning but heartless young beauty. As her exterior radiates youth, her newfound coldness raises moral quandaries. The narrative delves into the consequences of tampering with nature and the complex interplay between external allure and internal virtue. Marie Corelli's story unfolds as a cautionary exploration of the human desire for eternal...

2040: After decades of research, scientists of the European Union believe that they have at last conquered humankind's most pernicious foe: old age. For the first time, technology holds out the promise of not merely slowing the aging process but actually reversing it. The first subject for treatment is seventy-eight-year-old philanthropist Jeff Baker. After eighteen months in a rejuvenation tank, Jeff emerges looking like a twenty-year-old. And the...

Rejuvenates want nothing to interfere with their pursuit of long life, or the profit that comes from promising it to others. Use of bad drugs for rejuvenation is a real fear. Neighboring states fear the aggressive expansion of the Familias Regnant.

Caitlin Hext's first shedding ceremony is imminent, but she's far from prepared to produce a Snakeskin clone. When her Skin fails to turn to dust as expected, she must decide whether she wishes the newcomer alive or dead. Worse still, it transpires that the Hext family may be of central importance to the survival of Charmers, a group of people with the inexplicable power to produce duplicates every seven years and, in the process, rejuvenate. In parallel...

The worst has happened: Fleet is tearing itself apart. Some of the mutineers see injustice in the unequal spread of the rejuvenation drugs that offer virtual immortality to the rich; others are simply thirsty for power, or for blood. The Loyalists, meanwhile, fight desperately to preserve the rule of law in Familias Regnant space.