Geneticist Jianna Makinde has uncovered Aurelius Hofstadter’s true purpose: total control of DaVinci. Her father, Councilor Soren Makinde, is behaving erratically, and Jianna is sure that Aurelius has done something to him, but she can’t prove anything. Worse, Jianna’s best hope at fighting Aurelius has evaporated. Lucas, the first human-passing android that Aurelius ever created, seems to have absconded with thirteen Descendants, including the best friend of Jianna’s lover, Engineer Michelangelo Lombardi. Jianna fears that Michelangelo’s life is in danger, too, because he’s discovered Aurelius’ biggest secret. 

And the cherry on top? The Divine Blueprint, a genetic sequence that Jianna had hoped held the secret to curing the off-target effects that plague everyone on the planet (including her) has turned out to be nonviable when combined with the gene therapy that they’ve all been using to coexist with the pervasive fungal Bloom that almost killed Jianna’s ancestors. Aurelius offers another kind of cure, but it comes with terrifying strings attached.

Constantly watched by Aurelius and his cyborg crew, Jianna sees the entire city fall under Aurelius’ sway. Her closest ally is her former nemesis, Guide Willow Evans, a religious fundamentalist who hates genetic engineering but hates Aurelius more. If Jianna could find Lucas, they might stand a chance, but can she trust the android that Aurelius created and might still control? 

As Jianna frantically studies the forbidden technologies in hopes of breaking Aurelius’ hold over the city, the impossible question looms: can she free her father and the rest of the city from Aurelius’s control before it’s too late to take their world back?

For fans of The Martian, Seveneves, and Raised by Wolves, Genesis Undone is the explosive finale of the Echoes of Tomorrow series.