She escaped the system. Now she’s racing against time—and oxygen.

Engineered to be useful and efficient, three tense months hidden aboard The Malapar leaves former translator clone Amelia Blueheart feeling restless. When a scrambled distress call crackles through space from the desolate planet Hyppos II, she leaps at the chance to investigate—despite the risk.

Once on the surface, they face Stone City, a fortress of stone built by an ancient civilization, and a wall of silence from the Greffids—a warrior race known for their fierce tempers and tight lips. The Greffid king abdicated the throne and disappeared without a word. Galaxy law requires a translator clone to legally crown his replacement.

Escorted deep into the city by towering guards, Amelia and her two crew mates must navigate a tangle of mistrust, political tension, and cryptic traditions. Trapped in a labyrinth of secrets and stone, Amelia must rely on instinct, ingenuity, and the stubborn will she was never meant to have.