In a rugged northern land where secrets run as deep as the sea, nearly seventeen-year-old Nord has spent her life under the shadow of her grandfather’s defiance, and her father’s debts. Fiercely independent and fiercely loyal, she hides her fear behind sharp instincts and a biting sense of humor. But when her father gambles her away to a cruel brothel baron named Soren, Nord must escape before she is claimed on her seventeenth birthday.

Her chance comes unexpectedly: a boy washes ashore, and Nord risks everything to save him. Their flight into the forbidden Highlands reveals he is no ordinary boy, but a Tidal Witch—able to bend water to his will and worth more than his weight in gold. Hunted by Soren and others who would exploit his powers, Nord is drawn into a rising conflict. At its center lies a hidden city her grandfather died to protect—one that holds untold power and a terrible secret. If she fails, she won’t just lose her freedom—she’ll doom the people who once relied on her family’s defiance to survive.