Tally has become a Cutter, an elite member of the Specials. Tally has a faster and "icy" brain than when she was a pretty. They go undercover as uglies to identify members of New Smoke. However, the Smokies also found the Cutters and fight against them, then capture one of the Cutters, Fausto.
Tally then goes to visit Zane. Since Zane has caused trouble in the past rather than have an easily removable ring like everyone else he a strong metal collar. Tally and Shay has a plan that requires Zane and his friends to run away and find the New Smoke but to do that they can't be followed by the city, so Zane's collar is removed by a tool the Cutters stole from the city armory.
Tally and Shay do not trust Zane and the other pretties to give up the New Smoke's location so they decide to travel to New Smoke after Zane. When Zane discovers they are following him he questions her but allows it. However, when the two kiss, Tally's Special mind feels disgusted by the fact Zane is crippled from brain damage and runs away.
They arrive at Diego, a city that accepts runaways. She finds Fausto is no longer a Special and has been cured because he gave consent as a pretty. They try to force her to take the cure but she manages to escape by jumping off a cliff. She is captured and held in hospital by Diego’s authorities because her Special augmentations are a threat.
They plan to do surgery on her, but Shay helps Tally to escape. The other cured Cutters and Tally then learn of Dr. Cable’s impending attack on Diego. She then learns that Zane died of his injuries. She meets David again and he hands her the cure to inject in herself if she wishes to.
When Tally arrives back to the Special Circumstances division she notices that they have taken control. Tally manages to use the cure injection and stab it into Dr. Cable. The cure then spreads and people begin to change back to normal again. However, Tally still remains a Special and as such she is taken captive to be cured. However, she escapes to David and decided to live in the wild as the only Special remaining. She then forms her own New Special Circumstances division aimed at protecting nature from humanity.
