Eily lost everything in her pursuit of safety, including her twin sister. Now she lives a life of atonement within the walls of the Holdout, tolerated but not accepted because of her green skin and savage past. When news arrives that her sister may still be alive, she's offered a chance to rescue her - all she has to do is deliver a deadly plague to the very people she once called family.

As a trader, Jubal only avoids two things: slave trading and the green-skinned Flame Runnas. Unfortunately, he's forced to seek out both after a cannibal king takes his father hostage and demands Jubal bring back a green-skinned slave as ransom. The impossible mission is sure to end in Jubal's death, until sweet, green-skinned Eily makes his task far easier than it should be.

As Eily and Jubal travel across the poisonous countryside, they discover they have more in common than they first imagined, and Eily must decide how much of the peace she clings to is nothing more than an illusion.

With a father's life at stake on one side and a sister's on the other, someone is going to have to lose. And they both risk losing their hearts in the process.

(This book contains adult situations: sex, violence, drug references, and murder. You've been warned.)