Ash carries a secret while living in a tyrannical society, and it could cost him everything. In a world where boys are born from the sea, questions are taboo, and everyone is out for themselves, he struggles to form alliances and grow his own power. One day, he comes across a secret about his new crew leader: he’s hiding something called a woman, a creature no one on the island of K’mere has heard about. With his new, tentative alliances, they work to overturn the tyrannical society. Despite making new friends, Ash finds himself doubting their real intentions. He finds himself hiding his true origins while trying to uncover why his identity is considered a crime in this practically lawless land. Why is it that they kill everything from the forest? How could he, a boy not born from the sea, but from the roots of the Cypress trees, be so dangerous?