Sophie is a thirty year old Marketing Professional; she shares a two bedroom Victorian flat in London with one other. Sophie lives in London for the best opportunities with her career however having spent her formative years in the home counties of England she has a love of the outdoor that London cannot meet. She is works to keep her life healthy and as an active woman finds herself traveling out of London any chance she gets. She's travelled Europe at length and is currently contemplating taking a gap year which will afford her all the things currently missing in her life. The focus of her gap year would be to travel someplace outside of Europe where she could focus on her love of the outdoors and perhaps even have an opportunity to contribute to a conservation effort.

Sophie is now, as desired, a single mother; with marriage outmoded and her new neurochip helping to manage her household, she has no need for a partner. Her nanny looks after her child much of the time, while she works from home, and socialises with other single parents with similar childcare arrangements in the evening; online communities mean she doesn?t feel isolated, and she has no need to leave the house to socialise or work. High speed train networks are spreading across the world, to provide more affordable travel in the wake of increased costs of air travel.