Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. In just a few weeks she'll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she'll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world—and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change her world forever...

In Tally’s world, looks are all that matters. And now that she’s finally undertaken the surgery to become a ‘Pretty’, everything seems perfect: her looks are flawless, her clothes are cool, her boyfriend is totally gorgeous, and she's completely popular. But beneath the fun of non-stop parties, high-tech luxury and apparent total freedom, Tally can’t stop a nagging sense that something is wrong. Something important. Then a message from her ‘Ugly’ past arrives, forcing Tally to remember the truth she learned before her transformation, and the fun stops cold. Because the true price of this perfect world is more than Tally is willing to pay…

"Special Circumstances" - These words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a rebellious Ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumour - frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary… Now she's been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the Uglies down and the Pretties stupid. The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember… most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more. Still, it's easy to tune that out - until Tally's offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: carry out the mission she's programmed to complete, or listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat telling her that something's wrong… Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.