Out on the frontier, the laws of nature are written in salt and blood.
Field Naturalist Neris knows all about the wastes, but she’s never had to survive the reality. When a rogue alchemist murders her father for his research, Neris faces an impossible choice: let her family starve, or march into the toxic desert to steal it back. Armed only with volatile formulas and stubbornness, she hires the one man capable of keeping her alive.
Except Stone is little more than a ghost. Once a legendary monster hunter, his present is at the bottom of a bottle. He swears he’ll never return to the frontier. But Neris is everything he can't ignore. Headstrong, fiercely intelligent, and his one chance at redemption.
The Wastes throw everything at them: corrupt magic, alchemical horrors, and a relentless Marshal closing in on their trail. Yet the real danger is the heat building between them. As they hunt a madman, Neris and Stone must decide what they're willing to sacrifice to save the world—and each other.
