In the honeycombed expanse of the Great Hive Archipelago, Jakor is just another Builder-a worker born into a life of endless labor and strict boundaries. Orphaned young, he has spent his days constructing bridges and honey dams, adding his sweat to the golden structure of the Hive, all for the Queen Monarch he has never met. His parents were Harvesters, whose mysterious deaths were quickly buried under whispers of rebellion. Now, with no family and no power, he finds himself working the Hive's towering infrastructure, toiling for a society that seems to grow richer at his expense. But something inside Jakor begins to stir-a slow, simmering discontent. As he watches the High Drones bask in their lavish estates and sees the Stinger Division crush dissent with brutal force, his anger grows. When he discovers he has a latent ability for Nectar Arts, the forbidden gift he's been taught to fear, he realizes his life might not be so fixed in stone. Yet the power is dangerous: without mastery, he risks succumbing to Overbuzz, the Nectar-fueled madness that would turn him into one of the Hive's dreaded Honeyfiends. As Jakor delves deeper into his powers, he encounters a secretive group known as the Reclaimer's Guild-rebels who seek to end the Hive's rigid caste system. But trusting them comes with a price. The Swarm, a faction of rogue Honeyfiends led by the vengeful Lord Vespa, wages its own war, bringing destruction to the Hive. Each faction wants something from Jakor and his newfound power, and every step toward freedom draws him closer to his parents' secrets, to ancient truths about Nectar Flow, and to a decision that could ignite rebellion or lead to his destruction. But in the hive survival is not guaranteed honey flows like gold but to those who toil the taste is bitter and tinged with blood.