Dez is a flesher, scraping a living in the banns of Newport. When she accidentally kills a cop during a routine raid and then discovers that Newport City OpSec is planning to exterminate millions of fleshers, everything begins to unravel. She and her family are determined to stop the cull, but their only allies are the bent cop Brian Mac and a shadowy group called the Alchems. What chance does this unlikely band of renegades have against the full force of OpSec? What follows will test them to their limits, as they’re plunged into the most desperate struggle of their lives. The first in a dazzling new science fiction series from best-selling fantasy author Alison Croggon and acclaimed playwright Daniel Keene.