Having escaped from the Processor, Kress and her fellow Seventeens go on the run. Guided by Render, they undertake a dangerous, enemy-filled journey west where they encounter the Insubordinates, a guerrilla army of counterinsurgents led by an unexpected but familiar field general.
Now, Kress and her Conspiracy are preparing to expose the government's lies about the Eastern Order and reclaim the demacy so many of them and their families died trying to protect.