"In the indeterminate future as the human immortality nears, a new problem must be confronted: rejuvenated bodies require rejuvenated identities. In this process, all traces of a person's past are erased and a new, complete, and idyllic fiction is implanted in the mind. Occasionally, however, cracks appear on this carapace of perfect memories, and reminders of discarded lives crawl out and begin to take control. This condition is termed the Leaked Memory Syndrome, or Nostalgia, which can pull its victims into an internal abyss of terrible mental suffering. Doctor Frank Sina is a memory doctor, a successful, respected scientist living a secure, privileged life with his young, blonde--but unfaithful--lover, Joanie Wayne. One day, an odd-looking man called Presley Smith arrives in Frank's office, evidently suffering from Nostalgia. As Dr. Sina tries to save Presley, he finds his own perfect life story slowly slipping out from under him. Who was this enigmatic patient before he became Presley Smith? Why is Frank drawn to him and why is he simultaneously obsessed with the fate of Holly Chu, a young reporter eaten alive before a TV audience in nuclear-ravaged, war-torn Maskinia? Meanwhile the jobless young are in revolt in the streets, and events overseas have reached a flashpoint. And Frank himself becomes aware that he is being watched."-- Provided by publisher.

Canada Reads 2017 finalist