A girl with nothing but her brother. A prince with everything but his freedom. Only one can win.

In a world of haves and have nots, where petty crime is punishable by death and magic is forbidden, a deadly contest unfolds in secret. Twelve competitors are mysteriously invited. The winner gets one wish.

For 17-year-old Briar Bishop, this means saving her brother from execution by guillotine, and she's not going to let anything or anyone get in her way. Especially not Leo Davenbrook, the handsome High Prince, who has grown up with everything she never had and whose very presence threatens her chance at survival. She has no idea a darker battle wages in secret, one that could lead to a fate far worse than the death of her brother.