SOME WORDS ARE HARD TO FORGIVE. SOME MEN ARE HARD TO CONTROL. SOME MISTAKES CAN'T BE UNDONE. In the near future, the Librarian algorithm imposes tailored censorship to protect citizens from ideas that could inflict trauma or incite crime. Political aide Serafina Walker has been in damage control for the secretary of literary safety ever since the actions of a rogue cop sparked a protest movement against state restrictions. She's used to dealing with the grey areas that her boss likes to play in, and the women he likes to play with. But her loyalty is tested when his games take a dark turn. The ends have always justified the means-until now.
Compact of Fire is the second novelette in the Censored City series: A post-analog world on the tipping point of Orwellian dystopia and the women whose choices will determine which way it falls.