David Strorm's father doesn't approve of Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, his niece Rosalind and their friends have their own secret aberration that would label them as mutants. But as David and Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badland.

The Chrysalids is a harrowing text about the oppressiveness of bigotry, and it’s still painfully relevant today. Among post-apocalyptic novels, it has few challengers in literary quality, in depth, in it's memorable group of characters, in the scope of its themes or in in how much heart it possesses.