Kynn arrives on Penal Colony 37 to write a report about conditions at the prison and in the small surrounding town. The trip comes with the added bonus of seeing his sister, Mireille, who is stationed there. But when two inmates escape the prison and take Mireille with them, fleeing to the unexplored territory outside town, Kynn refuses to just sit around and wait for news. He joins the small rescue party, expecting a rough time of it—sleeping in tents, avoiding wild animals, eating poor excuses for food. What he doesn't expect are the feelings that develop between him and the expedition leader, Amir.