"Too much trouble, and you'll end up just like your crazy mother." Maeve was six when they took her mother away, and left her in the care of her Uncle Lou: a drunk, a misogynist, a fraud. For eleven years she's lived with him in Falside's slums, deep in the silt of the Falwere River. She bottles his miracle medicine, stocks his apothecary shop, and endures his savage temper. But as his violence escalates, and his lies come undone, she devises a plan to escape him forever. Even if it means people have to die.

“There was a time when a girl’s wedding day was the happiest day of her life.” In Falside, girls are a rare commodity; protected, controlled, and tracked by the administration. They spend their days idly waiting to be married off to the highest bidder. When the marriage announcements include Tale’s lover, Freda, the women will do anything to stop the match from happening. Their relationship is forbidden, and as members of the resistance, they’re already risking everything. But as their attempts to stop the wedding fail, both women have to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice for love.

“You’re just as weak minded as everyone else. Just as easy to control.” After generations of freedom from the administration’s rule, the slum women find themselves facing a census. But as officers try to list and tag them, their efforts are met with violent resistance. Maeve needs to keep Faith safe, and hidden, but she has another demon to battle. Powerful psychic Corinn, the girl nobody wants, is playing deadly games, and no one’s safe from her influence. Maeve’s learning to fight back, but her powers aren’t the only thing being unlocked, and she doesn’t have long to decide who to trust.

“The world will never be the same again after this.” Falside is about to crumble. The city is running out of women and the administration’s control is beginning to falter. The slums now finds itself under their gaze. Kerise has an ally on the inside, and now is the perfect time for revolution. But the resistance is in tatters, and everyone already has their own burdens. Before the city breaks, they must reunite for one last crusade. Whatever the cost.