The Hormone Jungle

A self-styled warrior fights to protect a mysterious female android from a crime lord in this cyberpunk novel from the Hugo Award–winning author.

Steward was raised in Yellowknife among the Neoamerindian Freestaters, trained to survive in the wilderness, and forged into a warrior against opponents in a series of wargames. To him, Brulé City is just another jungle, inhabited by dangerous predators at every turn. And no one is more dangerous than the waif-like android who has crossed to the wrong side of the tracks.

Miss Lucious Chiffon is a Flower, designed for pleasure in service to the city's wealthy elite, offering love and companionship. With her genetically enhanced wiles, she attracts and seduces men with a combination of innocence and manipulation. Constructed for one specific patron—a notorious crime lord—Chiffon has defied her loyalty programming, stealing his most valuable assets before escaping into the warrens of the Old District.

Knowing how it feels to be alone and running from the past, Steward takes Chiffon home. He is fully aware of who—and what—she is, but nevertheless falls in love with her, determined to protect her at all costs. But Chiffon isn't a typical Flower: she hides something more precious than the wealth she stole. And as criminals hunt the lower-class neighborhoods for Chiffon, Steward wages war against her owner—threatening to disrupt the city's balance of power.