In the Ward, life is grim and punishing. Crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society's pleasures are forbidden. Nirrim keeps her head down, and a dangerous secret close to her chest.
But then she meets Sid, a rakish traveller from far away, who whispers rumours of magic. Magic could grant Nirrim a better life, but to seek it she will have to surrender everything she's ever known - and place her trust in a sly stranger who asks, above all, not t be trusted.