Syrina is a Kalis: a master of disguise, assassin, and spy. Her kind has served the High Merchants' Syndicate for a thousand generations. She receives a surprising gift from her master, and she realizes something isn't right. The High Merchants don't do anything without a reason.  When things don't add up in an otherwise normal investigation, she follows the trail to the steam-powered city of Fom. There, she learns of a machine that could end civilization a second time.  Will Syrina stave off disaster, or seek revenge?