2179: Mars has been colonized by Earth, populated by humans and 'Second Types' robots - robots designed to perform the menial tasks humans won't do. Then there are the 'Third Types' - illegal humanoid robots designed by a nationalist force to look and behave exactly like humans - living undetected among the Martian population as citizens, until one man, Rene' Danclaude, declares war on the 'Thirds,' starting a massacre in a vow to destroy them all. That's where she comes in. She's Naomi Armitage. A cyber-punk Martian cop in hot pants, with an attitude as deadly as her gun. She's also a 'Third,' and her fight against D'anclaude is a fight for her survival. Her partner, Ross Sylibus, lost his partner at the hands of a cybernetic killer and hates robots. Ross must face this prejudice when he is injured and received cybernetic limb replacements, bringing him closer to becoming one of the monsters he abhors. He begins to realize that being human is more then just flesh and blood and joins Armitage in her fight against D'anclaude and her quest to discover the mystery of why the 'Third Type' was created. Armitage and Ross are brought together in a bond of love and hope as their journey uncovers a secret that could destroy two worlds! This is a story about technology and emotion. About hatred and love. About a human on the verge of becoming a machine and a machine on the verge of becoming a human. It is a story of survival.

A few years after they first met, Naomi Armitage and Ross Syllabus have started a family. Despite their normal lives, they must keep their identities a secret because many people believe that Robots do not deserve equal status with humans. Ross has an opportunity to abolish these ideas on Earth through a vote, but organizations in the shadows are working so that it doesn't happen.