Laia is a slave and Elias is a soldier in the Martial Empire, where defiance is met with death. In a brutal world inspired by ancient Rome, Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. They lead a quiet life until her brother is arrested for treason. Desperate, Laia agrees to spy for rebels from inside the Empire’s top military academy to save her brother. At the academy, she meets Elias, the school’s finest yet most reluctant soldier, who wishes to escape the tyranny he is trained to enforce. As their paths cross, they realize their destinies are intertwined, and their choices could alter the fate of the Empire.