In a dystopian future where society enforces monogamy through a mechanized system, Roger Bartlett, a senior sentry at Cadillac Cemetery, applies for a wife due to societal pressure. The Marriage Administration assigns him Julia Prentice, a woman he unexpectedly finds himself drawn to. However, the marriage is a facade; Julia is part of a group of rebels, or "ghouls," who exhumed car-corpse graves for metal to build a spaceship. The society, obsessed with puritanical values, is blind to the truth that the Marriage Integrator is designed to produce incompatible unions to control population growth. Roger's world unravels when he discovers Julia's involvement with the ghouls. Despite this, he is captivated by her, and they marry. Their union is soon deemed adulterous due to manipulated data cards, leading to their arrest. Captain Taigue, an MEP officer obsessed with Julia, seeks Roger's confession to absolve her. Roger, realizing Taigue's fanaticism, uses it to his advantage, escaping with Julia. Julia reveals the ghouls' plan to escape to Mars, using the metal from exhumed cars to build a spaceship, the _Mayflower II_. Roger, initially skeptical, is convinced by Julia's love and the promise of a new beginning. They flee to join the other rebels, leaving behind a society trapped in its own rigid doctrines. As they ascend the gang-plank of the _Mayflower II_, they embark on a journey to a new world, echoing the spirit of the original Pilgrims seeking freedom and a fresh start.
By Robert F. Young · First published 1971 · Genre: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Adventure · 6 chapters