Sixteen-year-old Samuel, son of devout cleric, has endured shame and
prejudice his entire life. Though he is destined to follow in his
father’s footsteps, he longs for an ordinary life in the whitelands
away from talk of demons and holy roots.
When the mayor
claims to have captured a mute demon-girl, Samuel is forced to become
her caretaker. But as Samuel gets to know the prisoner, he finds her
not to be very demonlike. Instead, she is intelligent, meek, and an
exceptional artist. Despite her seeming goodness, some more
concerning things cannot be ignored. Samuel is hard-pressed to
reconcile her uncanny strength and speed, one missing arm, ambiguous
gender, and the mysterious scars covering most of her body.
Samuel forms a deep
attachment to the girl with predator eyes and violent outbursts,
against his father’s advice. As their friendship threatens to
become something more, Samuel discovers the mayor’s dark
intentions. Now, he must decide whether to risk his own execution by
setting her free, or watch as the girl is used as a pawn in a
dangerous game of oppression, fear, and murder.
