WAR IS COMING, A WAR THAT COULD MEAN THE COLLAPSE OF THE REPUBLIC. BUT HOW CAN YOU DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT WHEN YOU'RE A SLAVE, DEEP IN THE BELLY OF A BRUTAL PATROL SHIP? Clara Perdue isn't sure why she took Jack Pike's place at the slave market. She isn't sure why she saved another girl and volunteered for the Scorpion, a Coastforce ship that plies the Channel, murdering refugees and raiding the villages along the coast. And she's certainly not sure how she'll ever escape. But when Clara meets Xavi, another slave, she feels emotions she's never felt before. Meanwhile, Jack Pike has taken Clara's parents to safety, and as he tries to track her down he falls in with an unexpected ally. But how can they find Clara? Can Clara escape the Scorpion somehow? And, even if she can, how can she stop the war?