In a future not far from now, society has had to adapt to "Hadens". Hadens are the victims of a widespread disease that has significantly modified their brain structure ("integrators") and for the more seriously affected, has "locked in". The "locked in" Hadens are alive but trapped in a body that cannot move. The world and technology has adapted to allow the "locked in" to live an active life by remotely using human-like robots. Integrators, have the special ability of allowing someone into their mind, to "drive" their body, while they remain in the background. 
 Isaac Asimov has placed the bar really high in terms of science fiction. I often find myself disappointed by sci-fi books now, generally because I find that although the core of the story is good, it's not developed or thought through as well as it would have been, had the book been written by Asimov. 
 However, it is not the case for this book. I'm not comparing John Scalzi to Asimov, because, sorry John, but they don't come close. However, it really felt like Scalzi had given his distopia some real though, including wider-scale and future sociological impacts.