Unable to face the truth, Ree doesn't want to believe that it was her fault - she is simply a victim too. How can one death cause so much strife? Yet the more she tells the lie, the more she no longer remembers what really happened. Will the darkness consume her - or will she ever find freedom of her own? Trying to forget the gruesome life he once led, Wilder would do anything to protect his daughter from ever knowing that part about himself. Yet this becomes difficult when he is forced to return to what he once did for the sake of his country. Will he ever be able to leave the past behind? Living without a home, a family, or friends seems to be his lot in life, but when Treas is sold into slavery he loses all hope of ever becoming anything more than a slave. His childhood dream of a bright future is forgotten and now all he can do is pretend to be better than he is. Is it escape he longs for - or death? In a land governed by a foreign, harsh king with an iron fist, rebellion is just below the surface. Will anyone be brave enough to fight for a better life - for freedom?