All Jace has ever wanted was to escape the control of Cracked and run. Now, Gray is on the escape-from list too. She can't bring herself to ever face him again, not after his betrayal. Angry, disillusioned, and broken, Jace accepts a permanent assignment to the President's security detail, intending to never see Gray or Cracked ever again.

But something changes inside her. With the United States facing an unprecedented threat that only she and Gray may be able to stop, Jace confronts a choice. She can cut and run, or stand and fight alongside the boy she swore she would never let inside her heart again.