Between the inhospitable Fairwoods and the even more inhospitable Wastes lies the city-state of Flax, ruled by dozens of perpetually squabbling factions. When Artemisia, the leader of one of these factions, receives an emerald amulet, it draws her, her girlfriend Neith, and several allies into a quest through the many factions of Flax and even into Flint, the city's underground twin, as she searches for the amulet's origin and its connection to her long-forgotten past.