From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong comes the start of a daring new dystopian series where humanity has moved to virtual reality to flee their deteriorating world,following two young soldiers who must depend on unlikely allies in their fight for survival. The future is loading… To escape rising seas and rampant epidemicsmost of society lives “upcountry” in glistening virtual realitywhile those who can’t afford the subscription are forced to remain in crumbling “downcountry.” But upcountry isn’t perfect. A cold war rages between two powerful nationsMedaluo and Atahua—and no one suffers for it more than the Medan orphans in Atahua. Their enrollment at Nile Military Academy is mandatory. Either serve as a soldieror risk being labelled a spy. Eirale graduated the academy and joined NileCorp’s private forces downcountryexactly as she was supposed to. Then Atahua’s most wanted anarchist frames her for assassinating a government officialand she’s given a choice: cooperate with him to search for a dangerous program in Medaluo or go down for treason. MeanwhileLia is finishing her last year upcountry at Nile Military Academy. Paired with her academic nemesis for their final assignmentLia is determined to beat him for valedictorian and prove her worth. But there may be far more at stake when their task to infiltrate Medaluo and track down an Atahuan traitor goes wrong… Though Eirale and Lia tear through Medaluo on different planes of realitythe two start to suspect they are puzzle pieces in a larger conspiracy—and the closer they get to the truththe closer their worlds come to a shattering collision.