Rose wants a better life for herself and her mother. Taking a job as a hostess in the Floating City's elite club feels like her best hope.
It means she has a steady pay cheque, that she can stay cool as the temperatures hit new highs and when storms devastate the mainland, she is safe.
And when the eccentric creator of the Flick, the universally enjoyed digital implant which allows everyone to remain perpetually online, asks for her to spy on a secretive northern building project in return for her mother's residency, Rose agrees.
But she is unprepared for the brutality of Camp Zero. And when it becomes clear that she is not the only person with an agenda, solidarity becomes as precious as fresh air.