February 29, 1916: On Leap Year Day, war widow Lillian McKinley gives birth at last to a baby girl who gestated far longer than she should. Kit proves to be a happy and intelligent child, but unnaturally slow to age--growing just one year older every four. For decades, she and her family must keep on the move to protect her secret--from insatiable newshounds, Nazi scientists, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies. When Kit can finally pass for an adult, she must decide whether she wants to stay perpetually on the run or form lasting ties. Ultimately, once the human genome is mapped and research on altering it begins, she'll need to make some difficult choices about the strange quirk in her DNA that has made her who she is.