The story is told through the eyes of Flora 717, a lowly sanitation worker in the beehive. Her unusual intelligence gives the opportunity to do things that others cannot and she gets embroiled in the politicl intrigues within the hive. I had to keep reading this book and stayed up late to finish it. Flora is a great character and there are some beautiful, lyrical descriptions of her flights outside the hive. It's different but worth a try.