Cassie's life was turned upside-down by the destruction of Seattle. She had to escape from "St. Augustine's Home for the Mentally Deranged," where Florida's Shines were being incarcerated. But the escape only gave her a new and even more dangerous set of problems. She meets a boy, a strange cat, and an alleged Shine school, and they all claim they want to help her. But can she trust any of them? Or does she need to escape again, before the malevolent forces searching for her make escape—or life—impossible.