Every year, the mysterious country of Malum selects seven young men and women to partake in a decade-long training program at its high-tech institute. When Quinn Sullivan’s grief-stricken friend is chosen, she makes the life-altering decision to take her place. Faced with dangerous trials and brutal physical training, Quinn must go against her kind nature to survive. With each passing day, Quinn begins to suspect Malum’s sinister intentions, but the institute is not her only enemy. The sullen, cruel-hearted Ace—a man plagued with the darkness serum, a genetically-engineered virus—looms over her every step. It soon becomes clear to Quinn how little she knows of the world, and if she is to see her family again, how much she’ll have to learn.