Either by accident or fate, cognitive psychologist Dr. Allan Shapiro stumbles upon an inimitable young boy whose severe neurological impairments have cut him off from the rest of the world. For Allan, the boy is a rare chance to understand the enigma and evolution of the "self" and the elusive quality that distinguishes the human body from the human being. But there are many other clashing agendas triggered by the boy's discovery. To the science community, he is the impetus for the next scientific revolution. To the public, he is a symbol of the sins of science. To the FDA and FBI, he is a legal citizen, born illegally. In this story about tomorrow, set in a time similar to today, THE GENE HACKERS explores man's instinctive fear of disease, damage, disfigurement and death, his ongoing struggle to wrest from nature's hand her tight grip on life and his desperate need for control of the fate and future of the human body.