Savants have it the hardest. Francis has memorized a dozen piano concertos but has no idea what a quarter note is. When he's accepted into a prestigious music academy and hailed as a prodigy, his innocent enthusiasm is broken by the judgemental glares of the other students. Feeling far behind everyone else, Francis struggles with his decision to study music formally, missing the simple days of learning songs by copying others and seeing music as emotional stories. But he needs to learn to rely on himself, to not be so dependent on others. The struggle of catching up to everyone else is made even harder with his potent empathy and the fresh grief of losing the love of his life, Claire, whose unabused soul was hidden in the music she shared with him. Francis tells himself he must press on for her sake. Because those three years he spent with her were the best of his life. Because he promised her he would never return to his old life as a lab rat. Because every time he makes the piano sing, he can still feel her spirit dancing through him.  This is book one of the trilogy, which is subtitled "Accelerando, affretando." Deals with themes of grief, loss, and trauma recovery