Reenacting life before the Persian invasion of 525 BC, George Flowers performed the role of a sandal maker in the Egyptian Colony, then a potter, a wig maker, and a brewer's apprentice. Weeks or months later, George raised pigs in the Asian Colony, or made cheese in the Middle Eastern Colony, or built chinampas, (artificial islands of fertile land for growing year-round gardens) in the Aztec Colony.
Aaron Flowers, George's billionaire father, a stern and sometimes cruel man, then scheduled George's next lesson in the Roman Colony, the fifth of seven replicas of ancient cities, vast "living museums" built on his private, sub-tropical island in the Sargasso Sea. All for what Aaron Flowers called: Vera Institutio ab Avidis Suscepta - true education, hands-on education.
But now, on the cusp of George's eighteenth year on Flowers Island, Aaron's methods have changed.
Instead of immersion in the living worlds of Culture Colonies, George's final lesson requires nothing but lifeless and academic memorizations from Plato's Republic. More unsettling still, George's best friend, Glen, hints that this year's parties and birthday pranks will be different. He warns George to prepare for the "ultimate surprise".
Good, or bad, George wonders, and from whom?
Of course, George can't know that, for this special birthday, his father has invited a stranger to Flowers Island, an enchanting young woman who will transform his life and lead him to the Grand Trine.
