Despite having been born into a dystopian world, shattered into isolated but powerful Factions by a brutal civil war, Darcy Newman has it easier than most. The daughter of the powerful leader of Faction 2, she's always been sheltered from the chaos and deprivation experienced by the lower echelons of society ... but she felt like an outsider, nonetheless, never truly feeling accepted even by her own family.

When she is finally offered the opportunity to earn her place among them with a dangerous mission undertaken on her father's behalf, Darcy is almost as excited as she is daunted. Another Faction has developed a mysterious and potentially dangerous substance (known only as Element Five). Her father wants it for himself, though obtaining it won't be easy.

Despite being utterly unsuited for a cross-country mission likely requiring subterfuge at best and violence at worst, Darcy is determined to do her best and make her father proud. What she hadn't counted on was Jessie Riggs, the modified human (Mod) with whom her father expects her to travel. Mods are definitely not part of the Elite, having been cast out of "proper" society as criminals and malcontents. Certainly not the sort of people with whom Darcy is accustomed to associating; she understands full well how dangerous they are purported to be. If she's going to impress her father though, she knows she has to find a way to make it work.

Unfortunately, even to Darcy's unfamiliar eye, Jessie looks far more dangerous than the average Mod ... in more ways than one.