Purpose-bred soldier of the Regime, Commander Sela Tyron is as subtle as a hammer. To hammers, any problem can look like a nail, but the solutions aren’t always that easy. When Sela encounters a son she is forbidden to know, falls in love with a man who is clearly off-limits, and is abandoned with her team on a planet full of insurrectionists, things get complicated. Rescued by her captain, Jon Veradin, Sela risks the only life she’s ever known to save him from a traitor’s death. Their careers as fugitives complicate further with the arrival of Erelah, Jon’s sister. Once brilliant, now mad, Erelah warns of a monster dead set on reclaiming her. Thrown together by strange providence, the three fight to stay ahead of their pursuers, and uncover staggering truths about each other along the way.