The Rules of a Changing Society

The novel argues through the events surrounding the Tox plague and the people it has affected that any society must be governed by rules for the welfare of all. Sometimes the old rules must change to accommodate a new reality. A deadly plague strikes the contained group of people on Raxter Island, just off the coast of Maine, and the characters – now completely cut off from the rest of the world – have developed their own society. They have specific rules for their new reality. They have created new methods of coping with daily needs as their world has completely changed, putting emphasis on different rules, learning new skills, and creating new tasks, and sometimes accepting violence.

Hetty, Byatt, and Reese are the central characters of this novel. Moreover, they are among about 60 girls still living after a deadly plague wipes out...