One night in New York City, twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles upon a ten-foot-tall robot sculpture she names Carl. The video she makes goes viral overnight, and identical Carls appear simultaneously in cities across the globe. April rockets to international fame as the person who found them first — but the Carls are not art, and their presence will reshape human civilization in ways no one anticipated.

April May is brilliantly flawed — ambitious, funny, self-aware about her worst impulses, and utterly unprepared for what fame does to a person. The sequel expands to Andy, Maya, and Miranda, each of whom processes grief and mystery in ways that deepen the series' emotional resonance.

The first book follows April's exhilarating and corrupting ascent to fame as the world grapples with what the Carls want. The sequel shifts to multiple perspectives as April's friends — reeling from her sudden death — begin to uncover that the Carls were only the opening move in something far larger, touching the nature of consciousness, technology, and collective human will. Both books use science fiction as a lens for sharp social commentary on internet culture, radicalization, and the seductive danger of influence.