I've never killed anyone. I've never been attacked by a mob and beaten within an inch of my life. I've never watched a child die in front of me. But I've lived through the memory of all those things. It is the future. There is no war, no social unrest, no painful memories ... and no freedom. The government maintains peace and tranquility by brain-wiping all disturbing experiences. At just seventeen, Lain Fisher is the youngest therapist at the Institute to master the art of Mindwalking - using a direct neural link to erase her clients' traumatic memories. But when a troubled classmate asks for her help, Lain's superiors warn her that Steven's scars are too deep, the risk is too great. Yet as she defies their warnings and explores Steven's memories, it becomes clear that something is very, very wrong. Is the Institute really an organization of healing, or one of manipulation and state control? And is there more to Lain's father's suicide than meets the eye? Meet Lain, and follow her into a dystopian world of memory modification, and a society of surveillance, stigma and secrets.