A utopian society's promise of freedom becomes a nightmarish struggle for survival when one man dares to break the rules in this classic dystopian novel.

The Organization's motto says it all: "Pleasure Is Pure, Freedom Is All." If you simply work hard and follow the rules, you can attain the ample rewards of Freeman status. For his entire life, Thomas Robert Hendley, a Dayman known to the Organization as TRH-247, has lived by these laws without question—until the day he decides not to report for work.

Instead, Thomas ventures into City No. 9, where he meets a young woman, ABC-331—or simply, Ann. With their unsanctioned encounter, Ann changes Hendley's life forever. Disobedience like theirs normally results in severe punishment. But instead, Hendley is offered a rare opportunity—to visit a Freeman Camp for a single day.

At first, Hendley is dazzled by the decadent beauty and pure pleasure enjoyed by the citizens of the sprawling resort. But the walls that normally keep Daymen like Hendley out, also keep the Freemen in; and to dispel their boredom they've resorted to barbarous acts of violence. Hendley has only one day in paradise, if he can survive it . . .