Nominated for the Hugo Award 2017 for Best SF Novel. The year is 2454. Humanity has created a hard-won golden age, forged in the aftermath of a bitter conflict that eradicated both religion and nation-states from the planet. Now, seven factions, or 'Hives', jointly govern the world, their rule supported by benevolent censorship, oracle-like statistical analyses, and technological abundance. Yet this is a fragile utopia - and someone is determined to push it to the brink of collapse. Condemned for his crimes and celebrated for his talent, Mycroft Canner is the obliged instrument - and confidant - of some of the world's most powerful figures. When he is asked to investigate a bizarre theft, he finds himself on the trail of a conspiracy that could shake the peaceful order the Hives have maintained for three centuries. But Mycroft has his own secrets. He conceals a far greater threat to the seven Hives.