A devastating virus. A nation-wide quarantine. A ruthless government at war with the world. And it's all seventeen-year-old Lyra Harmon's fault.

Lyra is the only person known to have "phoenix cells," which regenerate no matter the injury or illness. If she had just let the doctors clone her cells when Hecate's Plague was first discovered, she could have stopped the pandemic-and the war. But her parents knew the government would also use her cells to clone an undefeatable army and wanted to protect Lyra from being a pawn in anyone's game. So they kept her hidden and have now been on the run for years. It's a lonely, isolating existence and Lyra hates it.

When she secretly befriends a young girl orphaned by the plague, Lyra takes a stand. She won't run again. But her impulsive decision has devastating consequences: her parents contract the deadly virus, leaving them only three days to live-unless Lyra can save them. But as she's sucked into a dangerous political game, she no longer knows the right thing to do. With time running out, she must finally decide what-or who-she's willing to sacrifice in order to find a cure.