Ivy Westfall is beyond the fence, and she is alone. Abandoned by her family and separated from Bishop Lattimer, Ivy must find a way to survive on her own in a land filled with countless dangers, both human and natural. She has traded a more civilized type of cruelty - forced marriages and murder plots - for the bare-knuckled brutality required to survive outside Westfall's borders.

But there is hope beyond the fence as well. And when Bishop reappears in Ivy's life, she must decide if returning to Westfall to take a final stand for what she believes is right is worth losing everything she's fought for.