An inspired, sweeping, historical epic tracing the remarkable life story of a baby girl born on leap year day who
grows one year older every four years. The Leap Year Gene imagines the fascinating life of Kit McKinley from
WWI up to the present day, told through the voices of Kit and her family members, whose lives are forever
altered by her secret.
February 29, 1916: After an unusually long pregnancy, Lillian McKinley, whose husband has been killed in the
war, gives birth to a baby girl on Leap Year Day. Kit proves to be a happy and intelligent child, but unnaturally
slow to age. For decades, she and her family must keep on the move to protect her secret—from insatiable
newshounds, Nazi scientists, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies. When Kit at last can pass for an adult,
she must decide whether she wants to stay perpetually on the run or form lasting ties. Ultimately, once the
human genome is mapped and research on altering it begins, she’ll need to make some difficult choices about
the strange quirk in her DNA that has made her who she is.
Perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson's Life After Life and Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife, The Leap
Year Gene is a race through the past century’s burgeoning understanding of genetics, eugenics, and what
constitutes “normal,” while exploring the tensions, love, and sense of duty that can bind families together or
split them apart.