Action is driven by thought, thought is ruled by emotion, and emotion is controlled by Empaths. Eighteen-year-old Minerva lives in a city of repurposed shipping containers, dependent on a hydroelectric plant for light and heat, while a nuclear winter blankets the world in snow. Hemp powder meals and patchwork clothes are a fact of life - as is human evolution. An unparalleled Empath, not only can Minerva sense emotions, she can read minds and influence thoughts. Power has a price. Starting with her mother's postpartum depression, suffering has surrounded Minerva. But she has a core of steel, and to prove it, she joins the Guard like her dad. At first, Minerva loves the camaraderie she finds among the brash, strong Vitals, and she learns to use her Empathy defensively. Then two discoveries shock Minerva, and she starts asking hard questions. The answers may cost her life.