It was an imprint. A skull. The mark of a murderer.
Sixteen year old Auriel is a perfect Freeport citizen, suppressing her thoughts and feelings so that she only develops the right sort of imprints. But her control is put to the test when a family friend assaults her and she is faced with a terrible choice; allow it to happen or fight back and develop an imprint of her crime?
Auriel chooses to fight and is distraught when the imprint of a skull appears on her hand, the mark of a murderer. Forced to escape to the dilapidated Fringe, Auriel is taken in by a group of imprinted criminals who help her to break free of her rigid control and discover her true self. But the threat of capture is always close on their heels and, when Auriel is drawn into a plot to overthrow the government, she must look within herself and face the mistakes of her past to see the true characters of those around her.
Because at the end of the day, beauty is only skin deep.