12-year-old Jay Keaton's life is in danger. The gravest danger...ever since he discovered that – thanks to a long forgotten family secret – he holds the key to human life in his hands.
Jay and Mel's disappearances are headline news and their worried parents have made distressed public appeals for their safe return. Meanwhile, Mel isn't convinced by the photograph that Jay has shown her of the clones but despite her exhaust, Jay insists that they press on – they've got to find Uncle Harry.
Jay is rescued from the shadowy figure by a strange old woman called Maggie Wych, who seems kind and trustworthy, but what sort of woman lives in a rundown old car parked up on a pile of bricks? Mel has been imprisoned in the depths of the EmbroGen laboratory.
The seemingly benign Uncle Harry welcomes Mel and Jay into his home. Mel is wary; she has seen him before – at EmbroGen. She pleads with Jay to leave, but Jay ignores her and steps into Harry's clutches, pulling her in after him.
The nationwide hunt is still on for the three fugitives; Jay, Mel, and little Fleecey. Up until now they've felt relatively safe, living under Maggie's protective care. But it's getting risky – they need to move on before they're traced. The group set about tinkering with her old car to urge it back on the road.
Jay and Mel are trapped in a deep well and it looks as if they're condemned to a terrifying end. A slim shaft of daylight glimmers into the dark depths but the heavy iron lid remains stuck. Mel struggles to keep her grip on the ladder when Jay comes up with a brainwave and, with the aid of Mel's lip balm, lubricates the rusty lock enough to open it.
Time is now against the teen fugitives. It seems that EmbroGen has won – as Salko prepares for his shadowy consortium to reveal the new clone project, Eden II, has been a success. All that's left is to gain access to the secret underground labs to at least save the existing clones before it's too late.