Charlotte Leighton is supposed to be the poster girl for Enlightened Universe, her guru boyfriend Michael’s “spiritual healthcare” company, but spiritual health has been hard for her to find lately.

 

Michael swept her away from her old life, and she’s helped turn Enlightened Universe from a small, new-age commune into a multi-million-dollar company with a gated campus that includes a meditation center, a research facility, and luxury residences. Want to achieve your dreams and have everything you desire? Enlightened Universe will show you how to attain your personal best with its proprietary psychedelic pill and virtual-reality-guided meditation headset.

 

But critics are using the word “cult” to describe the millions of Enlightened adherents who are spending all their savings on pills and headset upgrades. There are rumors that a new version of the pill is causing seizures and odd behavior. EU’s top developers are working on an upgraded headset that will change human behavior for the good of the world, but what behavior do they want to change? And who gets to decide what’s good for the world?
 

When Charlotte starts questioning EU’s new tech, the philosophy behind it, and her relationship with Michael—who is becoming more and more secretive about the company’s plans—she decides it’s time to leave EU. But she has no money of her own and no place to go. She’s forced to seek out the people she left behind and ask for help, but discovers it’s not easy to get out of a cult. And even harder to stop one.