Have you ever read a dystopian novel in which you wondered how the world as we know it collapsed?

Well...this novel explains that.

Most apocalypse stories begin sometime in the future, after the devastation has been wrought.

Not this one.

This one lets you watch the horror unfold.

After the U.N. population treaty implemented a policy of world-wide use of the birth control nanite, Nae-Née, human-caused stressors on the ecosystem literally heated up.

No longer was our planet on the brink of collapse due to biodiversity loss, rising sea levels, floods, droughts, overdependence on fossil fuels, and the climate changes that drive all that.

No - collapse was upon us at last.

The measures taken to handle resource shortages right in everyone's backyards are shown: a population cull hidden in a vaccine (plus in many other vaccines), and a militarized surveillance society to manage the overflow.