Joseph Marquez’s only crime was hunger, and taking back what was already stolen from him. In the Democratic Republic of the Americas, the sentence for theft of government property is public execution. His sentence was commuted, despite pleading guilty, in exchange for his help. What exactly he’s supposed to help with has been intentionally kept from him, but the rumors about the atrocities at Petty Island don’t bode well for him and the other prisoners. Nothing is known for sure about Petty Island, but for Marquez and three other prisoners, their very lives are at stake as they struggle to determine friend or foe.