Shadera admires her fearsome mask, the first gift she has ever received. Wearing it, however, makes her feel that she has betrayed her community. Shadera tracks the landmarks of the Heart, hoping she will get a chance to share the information with Jameson. Greyson’s fear of meeting his father over dinner is palpable. They stop at the Veyra base, which Callum has hacked to give Shadera access. Shadera considers that she and Greyson are “both prisoners here, in different ways” (251). Greyson explains how the Veyra trade with other city-states, carefully modulating his language to indicate that he doesn’t agree with his father’s policies. Shadera is horrified at the vast stores of food available in the Heart while the outer rings are perpetually on the brink of starvation. Greyson alludes to his own anger, though he swiftly hides it. Shadera laments her complicated feelings toward Greyson. If she considers that he, too, is trapped by a system he is trying to change, killing him will be emotionally harder. And if he cannot change the Heart, with all his privilege, she fears she will not be able to do so, either.

Greyson admits that he despises his father’s policies, though he knows he is guilty for all the killing he has done. He fears, however, that if he reveals himself, his father will replace him with an eager killer who will do even more harm. He alludes to acts of resistance, though he refuses to explain himself.

Greyson frets over his father’s plans for dinner. Shadera wears an outfit that makes her look both elegant and deadly. The outfit reveals her many scars. Greyson laments that he finds her beautiful. He urges Shadera not to react to Maximus’s provocation. Maximus’s efforts to discomfit Shadera reveal that Jameson’s code name is Ghost, the name of Greyson’s contact in the rebels. Maximus baits Shadera into growing angry, citing his methodological starvation of the outer circles as “[creating] order from chaos” (270). Maximus’s rage mounts when Greyson defends Shadera, and Lira defends Greyson. Maximus chokes Lira, then strikes her. He hits Elara when she tries to defend her daughter. He shoots Greyson when Greyson tries to intervene. Greyson is unmoved by Maximus’s threats against his life, but grows compliant when Maximus threatens to kill Elara.

Greyson takes Lira and leaves, surprised that he trusts Shadera to protect his sister. He regrets that he can’t take Elara, too, but he knows she would never stand against her husband. Maximus promises retribution for this defiance. Lira has a panic attack, which Shadera helps her manage. Shadera’s care surprises Greyson, who thought her emotionless. Greyson sends Lira to Callum for protection.

Greyson destroys his apartment in a rage, lamenting the time he spent acting as his father’s “dutiful son.” When he is finished, he feels ashamed that Shadera saw him lose control. She tends his wounds, admitting that she had not previously considered what it might be like to grow up with Maximus as a father. She explains that Maximus killed her parents and apologizes for assuming Greyson was like Maximus. He shows her his skull tattoo, which marks his role as the Executioner. He considers death his “legacy,” but Shadera encourages him to seek a different legacy. He retires, surprised to find that he feels safe around Shadera.

Callum is horrified and furious at Lira’s injuries. He laments that he destroyed the romance between them. He calls an encrypted number (later revealed to be Jameson) to plan a meeting for the following day. He muses on Maximus’s increasingly erratic actions, which means that any movement against him must happen soon. He plots to infiltrate Serel Industries for more information.

Callum makes Lira tea, surprised when she invites him into her room while she is in the bath. When she begins to sob, Callum enters the bath fully clothed so he can embrace her. When he asks, she allows him to remove her mask. He promises to make Maximus pay for hurting Lira.

Lira wakes the next morning, bruised and aching. She wants true change, not just revenge. She decides not to wear her replacement mask in Callum’s house, a small act of rebellion that is encouraged in Callum’s household. She looks down at the city, reflecting on how its perfect veneer obscures the intense violence of her father’s regime. She decides she will no longer do as her father commands. Instead, she will use her skills in public relations to undermine Maximus. She calls an unknown person to discuss her plan. (The recipient of the call is later revealed to be Kestrel Farrow, the leader of a rebel group from the Cardinal, the middle ring of this society, positioned between the ruling Heart and the impoverished Boundary.)

Maximus enters a secret wing of his home, where he has trapped Elara overnight in a physically painful metal mask. He pokes cruelly at her injuries, claiming that she “made him” hurt her. Only when she swears to never defy him again does he release her from the mask. She collapses, and threatens to trap Lira in a similar mask if Elara questions him again.

Maximus meets with Captain Mikel, who reports on Shadera and Greyson’s movements. Maximus demands greater surveillance, pleased with Mikel’s unquestioning obedience. He plans to use whatever force necessary to maintain control over his city.

Jameson sneaks through the Cardinal ring to their rebel headquarters, where he meets rebel Kestrel Farrow. She explains that new policies encourage Cardinal citizens to turn against one another; they receive greater rations if they report on another’s suspicious activity. Agricultural workers were hanged when they attempted to steal seeds, their bodies left to rot as a warning to other potential thieves. She worries that the Heart is “preparing for something” (315). Weapons manufacturers have been held captive at their jobs, so their work is secret. Jameson urges a stronger alliance between the two outer rings, but Kestrel worries this will cause further retribution from the Heart.

Jameson explains that new drones are mapping the outer rings, apparently in preparation for attack. Kestrel warns him against trying to rescue Shadera, but he insists. She promises to try to find more supplies for the Boundary.

Greyson sits in the rooftop garden on Serel Tower, seeking distance from that morning’s executions. He ponders Shadera’s proclamation that he is different from his father, then returns to his apartment, where he finds Shadera trying to break into his weapons. He explains the intricacies of the “Vow ceremony,” the marriage rites in New Found Haven: Couples pronounce vows, view each other’s faces, and then are forced to consummate their marriage in front of witnesses. Shadera equates this to rape, but Greyson insists he will let himself be killed before he forces her. She apologizes; she understands that he is as unwilling as she is, especially after he defended her from his father.

Greyson asks about Brooker’s death. Shadera insists that the kill order came from the Heart, not the outer boundaries, who could not afford the contract. Greyson explains that married women in the Heart have no legal standing; they are considered their husbands’ property. He increasingly admires Shadera’s resilience and fortitude. He fantasizes about leaving New Found Haven with her, though he knows this is impossible. He touches her tattoos and scars gently but finds that she is more affected by a rough touch, paralleling his sexual preferences. They go out, seeking entertainment, to avoid the attraction simmering between them.

Jameson meets Jaeger at the Wolf’s Head pub. The team headed to the Heart wears stolen Veyra uniforms. They will pass through a checkpoint with a bribed contact. They bring an extra uniform for Shadera to escape in. Jameson dislikes the sight of himself in the enemy uniform and worries over Shadera maintaining her identity when stuck in the Heart.

Shadera considers her response to Greyson’s touch. She grows angry with herself for being attracted to him. She dresses for their night out, pausing over the hidden photo of an unmasked Brooker and Greyson. She finds Brooker familiar but cannot quite place him.

Jameson is shocked to learn that Jaeger’s Heart contact is Captain Mikel. Mikel offers the team credentials stolen from dead soldiers. He explains Shadera and Greyson are at Club Thane and warns that Callum is as dangerous as Maximus. Mikel takes the team through checkpoints, where one guard reports that someone called “Python” is trying to escape the Heart. Jaeger recognizes the name but doesn’t explain. Mikel acts callous about the citizens of the outer rings to avoid suspicion, though he assures Jameson that he wants the rebellion to succeed.

Mikel explains that they have two hours to secure Shadera and leave the club. Anyone who is late for the extraction will be left behind. Jaeger reminds Jameson that he is only to retrieve Shadera, not to try to kill Greyson.

Shadera dances in Callum’s club, noting that it is heavily guarded. She and Greyson both drink heavily, feeling a rare freedom. The other patrons avoid her. Greyson seeks Callum, but on his way, a woman stops him. Shadera is jealous at the apparent intimacy between them. The bartender reveals that this is Maya (whom Shadera does not know to be a sex worker). Suddenly, a masked Veyra officer grabs Shadera. She resists until she hears Jameson’s voice.