The Kingdom of Erishum is corrupt. Nyssa just doesn’t know it yet.

Towering border walls protect the Kingdom of Erishum’s citizens from the Dying Wilds and its monsters. Inside those walls, eking out a meager existence in the Shadow District, lives Nyssa, one of Erishum’s many mudlarks. She spends her days scavenging the muddy banks of the River Assur.

Nyssa is finally close to reaching her goal of leaving mudlarking behind for the warm ovens of a baker’s apprenticeship. All she needs is a little more money to afford the guild’s entry fee. When she unearths a mysterious but valuable object that could buy her a ticket out of the slums, she accidentally sets upon a path filled with unseen threats, deceit, and political intrigue.

Through lively marketplaces and clandestine dealings – all the while evading the menacing Enumerii priests and the king’s shrikes – her survival instincts as a gutter rat are put to the test.

Against the backdrop of an opulent festival, Nyssa is pulled into a world of danger, betrayal, and sacrifice. She now faces a terrible choice: save her future or save an old friend.

What do you do when you find out that everything you’ve ever been taught is a lie?