Tarnished Are the Stars

Anna Thatcher keeps people alive with technology the authorities have outlawed. Her own clockwork heart gives her a personal reason to resist the Commissioner’s restrictions, even while her work as the Technician makes her a target. His son Nathaniel hopes capturing the outlaw will finally earn his father’s approval. The arrival of Eliza, an assassin with a mission of her own, disrupts their pursuit and exposes a larger danger. An epidemic demands cooperation from people trained to mistrust one another. Across their intersecting viewpoints, Anna, Nathaniel and Eliza must reconsider the loyalties that have shaped them. Anna and Eliza’s developing connection sits alongside Nathaniel’s exploration of an aromantic and asexual identity in this science-fantasy adventure.