The concept of nature versus nurture has been argued by scientists for generations. The central question is whether a person’s genetic makeup or circumstances determine character. In this novel, the question that Dr. Hammerstrom asks is whether a person becomes a criminal because of a biological tendency or because of a bad upbringing. Masterminds tackles this thorny question head-on. Dr. Hammerstrom believes that he can solve the riddle by rigidly controlling the environment in which his test subjects grow up. All 11 children in the Osiris Project are cloned from master criminals, and Hammerstrom wants to know if they’ll grow up to be exactly like their DNA donors.

To determine the answer to this crucial question, all other variables related to nurture must be carefully controlled to exclude anything violent or unpleasant that might have a psychological impact on the test subjects. The difficulty of controlling every facet of a child’s upbringing is abundantly clear in Serenity. The town must be not only geographically isolated but also isolated from American culture as a whole. Information must be censored to exclude violence and criminality.

While sheltering children from life’s unpleasant aspects might seem benign, the cold-blooded nature of the experiment soon becomes apparent.