A love story (of a very complex nature) intertwined with a desire to explore the unknown (the 'face of God'). Set in what appears to be a run-down near future Britain, Anita is in love with Rachel, who had been modified by a 'Kushnev drain' device to be a astronaut. Anita's mother, also a astronaut, whom she never knew, died in a take-off explosion, and she finds letters detailing her mother's love for a mysterious woman. ( )