THE WORLD IS WINDING DOWN. Centuries after humanity’s last stand against the Dark Filament, their servants—the bloodthirsty creatures known as Incarnates—hunt down anyone under the age of eighteen. Civilization is broken, and the remaining population is elderly, isolated and hopeless. Sixteen-year-old Korden Bright has lived his entire life behind the Barrier, a mystical shield which hides him from the Incarnates. There, a group of ancient men from the time before apprentice him in the magical discipline of artcraft, based upon one’s creativity and force of will. When the Barrier is breached, Korden will leave to journey across a post-apocalyptic America, from the shores of a place once called California, all the way to the Shroud in the far east, which marks the battlelines of the armies of the Filament. But first he’ll have to survive the wild forest just beyond his village, where he might find something far worse than Incarnates...

THE AWARD-WINNING SERIES CONTINUES! Korden Bright continues his journey east toward the Shroud across a dusty, forgotten America. His next stop: the gender-segregated town of Ida, on the shores of a lake once called Tahoe, where he hopes to find information on the mysterious figure known as the Prophet. But before he can get there, he'll face the haunted waters of the lake itself, become an unwilling accomplice in a master conman's game, and find himself pursued by a crazed, tentacled assassin that may be far more than meets the eye. Meanwhile, at his back, the Incarnate scourge grows, led by an old enemy with a terrifying new set of powers...

After escaping the town of Ida, Korden Bright and his new companions—jinko addict Meech Holcomb; expectant parents Rand and Lillam; snake oil salesman Tarmon Doaks; rogue Filament slave Zeega; and, of course, telepathic artificial intelligence S.T.O.N.E.—flee into the harsh wilderness of the Valley of Bones. Their goal: find the origin point for the Prophet’s broadcasts and convince him to aid in Korden’s quest. Behind them rides the villainous Heater Kay, host to a dangerous imagination-devouring entity named Loathe, and a growing army of Incarnates intent on slaughtering them all. Korden’s small band of mistrusting strangers will have to find common ground as they forge through the deadly Valley. On the other side, the Prophet waits, but nothing is quite what it seems in this world...

The desert is passed and, after a tragic loss, Korden and his companions arrive at the Skyreach, a range of formidable mountains once known as the Rockies. There, in the shadow of the great summits, they will find peace in the small village of Wilton, whose inhabitants hold no fear of the Dark Filament. But a secret hides beneath the town's calm surface. As the group learns more of 'the Sisters' who provide protection to this settlement, it becomes clear that the cost of salvation may be higher than they can possibly pay. Soon Korden must journey to the highest peaks of the Skyreach to confront the specter of Moambati, where he will face the entity known as Loathe for the last time...and discover a truth that could shatter his faith forever...