In a volcanic city oppressed by a distant empire, an ailing child prodigy struggles to make her way in the world after her family is shattered by the loss of her mother. Astraia is a mechanical genius in a city of exploited mages and manufacturers. Her father, Kofi, is a brilliant man broken by the military/industrial machine for which he’s been forced to work. Together, they try to scrap together a life in the slums as the city’s tensions mount around them. 

Astraia wants liberation and the thrill of adventure. Kofi just wants his daughter to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. But Astraia’s resolve can’t be tempered, and she quickly finds herself mired in an all-too-adult world of political turmoil, organized crime, and frightening magical technology. 

An adventure awaits Astraia as she comes to terms with the hardness and truth of an encompassing real world.