A fatal disease has made women scarce across the land, reshaping every society that has survived it. Naala grew up in the southern country Ruse under the protection of Olli, her childhood friend and the kingdom's future king, after Nasula raiders took her mother years before. She has since become Olli's fiancée, and life has settled into something approaching peace—until Nasula strikes again, targeting women. The decision Naala faces now is whether captivity means submission, or something else entirely.