In a world torn apart by bombs, survival isn't just a daily struggle-it's a choice that could cost everything.
Mary Beth Johnson has never felt at home-not in the settlement, not with the guards, and not even in her own skin. Since the bombs fell and left strange mutations behind, she's been marked-literally. The turquoise bumps that appeared after puberty set her apart, making her an outcast and a target.
Now, food is running out, and pressure to conform is closing in. With her siblings on the brink of starvation, Mary Beth makes the one choice she swore she'd never repeat-the one that tore her family apart once already: she leaves. No plan. No map. Just a desperate mission to find a place safe enough to bring her family, where they can live without fear or hunger.
But beyond the barbed wire and ruined skies of the Colorado Rockies lies a truth buried deep-and someone she never expected to see again. As she fights to survive and uncovers the truth about what really happened, Mary Beth finds more than just danger waiting for her.
She set out to save her family. She might end up finding a future worth fighting for.