Centuries after the collapse of the modern world, in a future where reading is a religion reserved for a select caste, a new and charismatic leader has emerged to lead the burgeoning Cult of Ignorance and war is on the horizon. In the wilds between the cities where weaponized weather stalks the land, tribes have developed their own peculiar ways of living and something new and deadly is evolving that could threaten everything and everyone. For Charlie, growing up safely behind the walls of the Librabbey, the world beyond is little more than a story in a book. When she decides to set off across the Between to find her parents she must rely on friends made along the way and the protection of a mysterious clockwork man. Can Charlie and her family avoid the dangers, both human and other, and when threats are so numerous will the few survive?