the Red Empire has taken everything from eighteen-year-old Drift: his mother, his friends, his town, and his country. Alone and armed with skills that defy his age, Drift has mastered the art of killing to survive in the unforgiving mountains of the once-known Appalachia Region, where he lives life by two rules: avoid emotional attachments and evade The Grey Wolf-the elusive sniper who hunts him relentlessly. But everything in Drift's isolated life gets flipped upside down when he meets Jaysi, the Archivist for Hill Top Village. As a love blossoms between them, their bond becomes tested when the neighboring Ghost Village inhabitants abduct Jaysi. Unable to bear the thought of losing someone else, Drift assembles a small group of unlikely allies to embark on a daring rescue mission that involves navigating perilous landscapes, eluding Eaters lurking in the shadows, outsmarting vicious Beasts, and learning that Drift's arch-nemesis, The Grey Wolf, is the leader of Ghost Village. With Jaysi's life hanging in the balance, Drift must confront his deepest fears to save her.