In the fractured world of the Astrolabe, where humans are but shadows of their former selves, the City of Steel is ruled by androids and their man-made deity, Father. Humanity lives on the brink of annihilation, and A-Ka, a young slave shackled by oppression, clings to a fragile hope of escaping to a legendary land across the sea.

When A-Ka crosses paths with Heishi, a mysterious raven-haired man awakened after thousands of years, his life is upended. Bound by destiny and an unspoken connection, the two become unlikely allies as they're swept into a cataclysmic war between clones and androids. As ancient prophecies unravel, the fragile bond between A-Ka and Heishi may hold the key to salvation--or doom.