Emilia lives under the North's absolute rule, where the State assigns her work and binds her in an arranged marriage.
War left England divided into four self-governing regions, and the life she remembers from before it has been replaced by exhausting days, punishment in The Cell, and dread of the Enforcers in the streets.
Zachary Hastings was never supposed to matter to her, yet sharing a life with her stubborn husband makes distance impossible.
She still means to bring the State down, even if open defiance could kill her.
Loving him may be the weakness that exposes her, or the only opening she has toward freedom.
