Terror. Callousness. Denial. Rebellion. How the four teenage children of leaders in the duchy and the neighboring empire of Hanaobi choose to adapt to their nefarious parents' whims is a matter of survival.

Soldier Rohesia, the pitiless daughter of the ruthless duke. Thief Fastello, the compassionate son of the "king" of the raiding nomads. Orphan Cateline, the pious, myopic follower of the austere leader of her religion. Royal heir Kojiro, the hypersensitive son of the bloodthirsty Hanaobian empress.

When the paths of these four young adults cross, they must rely on one another for survival—but the love of even a malevolent guardian is hard to leave behind.

Fans of the twists and turns in Six of Crows and the compelling character drama in the works of Sarah J. Maas will love this YA version of Game of Thrones meets Marvel Comics' Runaways that readers are calling "intense and brutal and just a whirlwind of a ride."