It's been forty years since the old world died. To survive in the After, the meager remnants of humanity hide on the oceans or lurk in the deep places of the Earth. The surface belongs to the Cursed—ravenous, stargazing cannibals who can twist and stretch their glowing bodies into terrible and grotesque forms.

All Garrett has ever known in the Barony, a small settlement clustered around the relative safety of an old mine. Apprenticed to the engineers, he's one of the select few taught the ancient arts of reading and science. It's his job to guide the scavenging teams that raid the fading wonders of the Before for the scraps of technology needed to survive. But when a scouting mission goes tragically wrong, Garrett and his boyhood rival must abandon their home for a doomed and desperate quest. Their only chance to remain human is to succeed where countless others have failed and find the mythical source of the Curse.

But as they journey across a perilous landscape of monsters and survivors, they'll find their growing hunger reflected in a strange and starving sky. The Cursed aren't the only threat lurking within the ruined cities and rising wilderness... and their ultimate destination may be far more distant than Garret could ever have dreamed!