Somewhere along the tides of time, humans lost their position as the dominant species. Instead, they became subjugated by the City of Machines--a gleaming metropolis crafted by the androids' ruling class. With guidance from their deity, Father, these machines wield control with an iron fist.

This is the new reality for the young human slave, A-Ka, who struggles daily just to survive upon the Astrolabe. After all, life on this planet-sized petri dish is no easy feat. Yet when A-Ka encounters a mysterious raven-haired man named Heishi cocooned along a desolate beach, everything changes. As foretold in stories, this stranger's appearance means life in the Astrolabe is on the brink. When all is lost to the apocalypse, what--and who--will remain?