Nobody knows why Renee Parrish died in 1996 or why her head was cryonically frozen, but she's back three centuries later. A brilliant old machine named Sigma had brought her head to a desolate, frozen world in the Kuiper Belt and has just revived her. He introduces her to the miracles of modernity, but also the great peril that humanity now faces from other machines.
Sigma plans to play a role in saving humans, but it will require Renee's help. Yet the more she learns, the more she doubts him. Now she has a single, stark choice: go her own way or join Sigma's clandestine journey. But Renee may not live long enough to make that choice.
Rebirth begins the epic Verge of History series. VoH spans centuries and considers a very plausible future for humanity by considering only technologies that are already emerging today or are within the realm of science. VoH presents an optimistic but nuanced view of the enormous cultural impacts of those technologies. Life for most humans in the VoH world is blissful revelry, which leaves them profoundly vulnerable.