Nine-year-old Esmiel and his father travel from their village to the capital city of Granth, where Esmiel’s mother has been awarded early release after having been imprisoned. Her crime? Belonging to a group pushing for full citizenship for natives known as the Enn Sarnthe. Before reaching his mother, an earthquake strikes. Esmiel is swept away by a resulting tsunami.

Esmiel awakens to find himself on a beach, among four strangers: twins Nicolai and Īberenth (age 14), Amelme (age 15), and Tobiah (age 16). The children try to find their way home, and on their journey meet a woman named Quen’tha, who is in charge of a commune designed to teach the boys skills that will eventually lead to careers. They’re not pleased with this news, desperate to return to their families. But they are told there’s no way back. Quen’tha’s caring nature, combined with the comfort of the commune, eventually grow on the boys, but Tobiah remains defiant, and soon runs away.

When Esmiel reaches age 17, he’s apprenticed to aZearn (“Z”), who’s overseeing the building of a grand train network that will link three main regions. While at a bridge construction site, Esmiel meets Gideon, the son of a high ranking government administrator. Gideon falls for Esmiel, and makes Esmiel an offer to live at Gideon’s property on a remote island. It sounds like paradise, and Esmiel deludes himself into thinking he could grow to love Gideon. More importantly, Esmiel will have everything that he wants, highest on the list being safety and security.

The situation devolves quickly, however. A skirmish between two regions leads to war. Esmiel meets and falls for a young man his age named Balaan. And Tobiah returns, having found a way home. But Esmiel decides he wants to stay. There’s no certainty to the region’s future, but Esmiel, having been a victim of too many unjust societies, dreams of transformation. He finally feels he’s found a home, and a person, worth fighting for.