In Nevaris, life is a privilege measured in time and death is a fixed sentence, arriving on the twelfth birthday of every citizen. But every four years, the rules are bent on the 29th of February—Killing Day. On this day, the people of Nevaris are allowed to kill in exchange for more time to live. The more kills, the longer they survive. When the lines between life and death begin to blur, Auryn and Zaire uncover the horrors that Nevaris hides beneath its surface. Forced to confront the deadly consequences of the system they’ve always known, they must decide whether to keep playing by the rules—or take their fates into their own hands.