They're called chimeras, the scientific miracles of the 21st century: synthetic, human-looking beings grown in vats, then implanted with artificial memories &, often, unusual skills. Among the decadent rich, chimeras are purchased as fashionable pets. But in the hands of politicians, business moguls, military kingpins & CIA agents, they serve far more deadly purposes. In the endless struggle for supremacy within the world's constantly shifting balance of power, chimeras are the perfect tools for espionage & betrayal. Simon Boyle, chimera-maker for the CIA, has taken treachery into a new dimension, stealing parts from the Agency to create an illegal replica of Billy the Kid--a replica hardwired so he cannot recognize any artifact made after 1880. Boyle has made this specially enhanced chimera a private gold mine. He rents Billy out to wealthy women eager for a brief interlude of romantic fantasy--then he kills the Kid, revives him, edits his memories & rents him out again. But after living & dying numerous times at his creator's whim, Billy is changing. Faint memories linger, urging him to escape. He's become aware of a vague yet compelling need: to be his own person.