Shadera Kael enters the Daggermouth stronghold, the Wolf’s Head pub, and approaches Jaeger to report on her successful assassination of a Heart sympathizer. She receives her next target: Greyson. The money she will earn if she succeeds will fund the Daggermouths for a long time and will provide food for many Boundary families. Jaeger warns her not to underestimate Greyson. Shadera asks for news as antibiotics arrive from the Heart.

Shadera walks through the dangerous Boundary streets, her reputation as a Daggermouth causing others to avoid her. She reflects on her hatred of the Veyra, the name for the Serels and their allies, stemming from her parents’ execution. After her parents’ deaths, she became a mercenary and was soon legendary for her violence. She plans to use a stolen Veyra gun to kill Greyson, which she considers to be symbolic retribution.

Greyson goes to a club owned by the powerful and dangerous Callum Thane, who uses his power to openly run an illegal club. Greyson discusses his hesitation during the execution, and Callum reassures Greyson that he is “not [his] father” (30). They discuss Grey’s upcoming marriage, which they understand is meant to publicly show his loyalty; the Daunts are powerful allies. He laments that the rebels were killed because they fell in love despite being from different social castes. Callum counters that love is powerful enough to topple empires. He cautious Greyson against letting his father destroy his good heart. Their conversation lifts Greyson’s spirits.

Greyson meets his parents and his sister, Lira, for dinner. Even at a private dinner, his mother, Elara, wears her mask. The family eats in silence until Greyson asks about his late brother, Brooker. Maximus refuses to investigate the identity of Brooker’s killer, citing the danger to soldiers who ask questions of the Daggermouths. Maximus grows angry when Lira agrees with her brother; he strikes their mother violently to coerce his children’s silence. Despite their father’s command to let the matter go, Lira wants to help Grey find and kill the Daggermouth who killed Brooker.

Shadera inspects her weapons as her friend, Jameson Vine, arrives at the warehouse she calls home. They have urgent, intense sex, but Shadera resists any emotional intimacy between them. After their encounter, Jameson frets that trying to kill Greyson will get Shadera killed. He admits that he is falling in love with her, which she advises against. He is hurt that she planned to leave for her next job without telling him. He pleads with her to refuse the contract, but she insists this is something she needs to do. After she leaves, Jameson reflects on how killing Greyson would change things in New Found Haven. He hopes that Shadera doesn’t die in the process.

Shadera sneaks between the city’s rings using the maintenance tunnels. She fights the gangs that hide in the tunnels, seeking to rob anyone who travels illegally between the rings. She kills several without remorse. She climbs up an elevator shaft, narrowly escaping being crushed by the elevator as it moves. She relishes this near miss, as it makes her feel alive. She sneaks into the Heart via an underground garage, then slips into the city, not realizing that she passed Greyson as he hid in the same garage to smuggle the antibiotics.

After attaching the antibiotics to a truck bound for the Boundary, Greyson walks through the Veyra stronghold, fearing that his ruse will be uncovered. He encounters Captain Mikel, who witnessed his hesitation at the execution. The two are wary of one another, but they leave without conflict. Greyson returns to his apartment, dreading his wedding the following day. He wishes for freedom from his father. He summons Maya, a sex worker with whom he has a longstanding relationship, seeking a final sexual encounter before his marriage.

Despite his late night, Greyson wakes in the early hours, preparing meticulously for an execution. He laments the hesitation that led to his arranged marriage and frets that he lacks the commitment “to stand firmly on either side of his life” (73). His self-loathing is intensified because the morning’s execution is for smuggling medicine, the same crime he routinely commits.

Shadera watches Greyson through the scope of a rifle. Though she tries to focus, she is drawn into the memory of her parents’ execution as Greyson kills the rebel. She decides that she wants to kill him up close, not from afar.

Greyson paces as he awaits his marriage ceremony, not letting his dread show. He wonders if his brother ever resented their family as Greyson does. From the air vents, Shadera watches him. She drops into the room, and the two fight. They are well matched and taunt one another as they battle. Greyson stabs her in the stomach; she shoots him in the stomach. As she prepares to take her final shot, he removes his mask just as Veyra soldiers enter the room.