Destiny has locked its talons on a prodigal child, thrusting him on a dangerous journey to restore freedom for all of Colorado.
Connor has been enjoying his new home at the sanctuary hidden in Colorado's Eisenhower Tunnel. He endured much to get here with his family, and their lives have improved exponentially. As a Daily, the lowest level of the caste system, he suffered hunger, cold, and hard labor, but those troubles are gone.
For the first time in his young life, he experienced the joys of childhood. Going to school, making friends, and playing baseball. Though he cast off the yoke of his old status, he still carries the burdens of his very being. He is a genetic Highmind; trained from infancy to hold the secrets of the rebellion. His recall is so exceptional that he learns at an alarming rate. Though his intelligence is unmatched, he is still a child, and constantly reminded that experience is an intelligence that eludes him.
He believed his secret keeping days and mystery sleuthing were over when he arrived at the New Haven sanctuary. But deep down, he knew the rebellion wasn't over, and the war would return. He prayed for years to pass before their world faced that threat.
But day by day pressing issues and concerning clues emerge. He discovered his town is not all it appeared to be, and the evil overseers of the outside world were pounding at their doors. When the Corporate overseers discover their hidden paradise, it forces his town to form alliances with the shady fringe dwelling marauders called Fringers.
The whole town appreciated their help in defeating the large scout troop the Corporates sent out to locate a missing band of soldiers. Yet, all his life he listened to the stories of the Fringers' evil deeds. They were called kidnappers, murderers, and thieves, grabbing supplies and Dailys to be their slaves. But now, he is told that the Corporates invented those stories.
Though the initial battle was won, another more formidable attack is eminent, and It will take more than competing lies and spilled blood to build trust between the two communities. It will take time-time they do not have. Before the snow-blocked roads melt with the next spring, the New Haven Defenders must team up with the Fringer Guard on a treacherous quest. In a legendary cavern lies the key to defeating those that would kill both the New Haven and the Fringers.
Against the enemy's army of hunters and the brutality of Colorado's winter wilderness, Connor joins twelve soldiers, a medic, a scientist, and an unknown tracker. They carry the Sanguine Blade, secret maps, and Connor's memories. For he alone has the knowledge to find it and access it; knowledge that he can't retrieve unless it's triggered.
Willing or unwilling, fate has united them, compelling them onward to a mythical place called Cali Bantu.
