History is important, loyalty is everything, and everyone has at least one secret they will guard with their life; these are the only things Ember is certain of. As sure as the sky is pain blue. Everything else is a toss up—including whether or not she should still be breathing.
Being the chief advisor means Cloud is used to making tough decisions. Those decisions don't always grant him the respect of his colonymates, but when it comes to family, the approval of the council can wait. Some rules only work when broken—and some threaten to rip his family apart by the roots.
Nearly a century ago, the appala cats of ARC united to form the Colony. After a power struggle, the Colony was divided in half, with the resulting settlements positioned on two facing mountain slopes: the East and the West. Now, in 2110, life in the Western Colony is not easy. With every inter-colony meeting, tensions rise. A second war, one far bloodier than any fights before it, seems more inevitable by the day. However, when Westerners start to turn against each other, the father-daughter duo is forced to question everything they thought they knew. Are they really above the rogue gangs and mercenaries stalking the Lowlands, or are they no better than the wildcats?