An EMP throws the world into chaos, but for Sarah Peterson, it provides a chance to shine.
When scientists developed nanobiology to dissolve plastics, they never anticipated EMPs would mutate it to decay everything. The Blackout, a worldwide ban on electricity, was the only solution. Now, in a steam-powered future, Sarah Peterson counts the last days of her apprenticeship with the ingenious but transgressive inventor, Arthur Goldstein.
When her gold-digging parents introduce her to the wealthy, charismatic Kane, Sarah sees a path to independence—until she meets Ethan. He is the perfect test subject for Goldstein's illegal biometal experiments, and despite a rocky start, an attraction blossoms. But Sarah can't let Ethan becomes a tether to the life she's desperate to escape. And when she learns her own ocular lens uses the same illegal material, the threat to her safety becomes as dire as her friends'.
Can marriage to Kane still offer Sarah a path? How can she uphold her promises at the cost of her freedom?