Zren Janin has friends in high places.Through accident and adventure he knows Ngahuru of the West Islands, Miyamoto Suki, a diplomat of Vikland, Bima Ritwik...

Zren Janin has friends in high places.

Through accident and adventure he knows Ngahuru of the West Islands, Miyamoto Suki, a diplomat of Vikland, Bima Ritwik the Softfoot, Solkka Ulani, a man who is more than the son of a coffee farmer, and Vikland's prolific inventor and firemaster, Chul Swyler.

Zren is loyal to those he calls his family at Manumina. He respects the talents of the Wrens, who came to fight for a chance at a better future than Kerek City would offer, and he understands those who just want a place to belong.

But not all of them will survive. Some will carry scars that will never fade.

When the war ends abruptly, Ngahuru's network collapses through betrayal and violence. The remaining Wrens fly to anywhere they think is safe. Vigilantes search for traitors, ragged soldiers look for someone to blame.

Who is still alive and who is not? What does the future look like when the people you love cannot be found? How can you search for someone when you don't know where to look?

What can a future in Vikland hold when the Wrens wear the faces of the enemy and the Conrosans the voice of another language?

As the world turns upside down, Zren Janin wonders what truths will remain, what promises will be kept.