Slate is a thief who specialized in stealing, forging, and planting paperwork. When she is arrested for treason, she finds herself part of a suicide mission with Brenner the assassin and the disgraced paladin Caliban, once a demonslayer, now host to the dead remains of the demon which sent him on a murderous rampage and shattered his world.Their goal is both simple and nearly impossible. Find a way to stop the Clockwork Boys: the massive ivory creatures wreaking ruin upon the countryside. But to do that, they must first cross a war zone, braving plague and magic, to reach Anuket City, the distant home of the enemy.