The five cities of man surround the Sea of Dekatos. The ancient city-states are filled with towers, stone pyramids, soaring catwalks, arching bridges and jade castles. The bronze age men and women fight, love, war and conquer against the backdrop of five massive, sprawling cities. Char, city of chariots, deploys her army in the nearby deserts. In Yang, where nightly winds blow in gusts of hot sand, they raise an army of heavily armored footmen. Bowmen of Lau Cing, with copper weapons and bronze chainmail, train to fight even during heavy desert storms. Formations of swordsmen pour from the pagoda's of Hecai while Anshi fields a legion of grim, dedicated female warriors. The city-states wage constant war until a new enemy threatens. Blue scaled aquatics rise from the sea, water streaming from their iridescent scales, and the five cities face a new and more terrible enemy.

Clair Jordan has lived her entire life in the city of Manhattan, New York. Unfortunately, on her birthday, her mother was killed, and she is now forced to move in with her dad, who had abandoned her at the age of 3, and trades the city of Manhattan for the small town of Butte, Alaska. Of course, things are very rocky between her and her father, and trading a busy city for a small town in the middle of an empty, cold state has her in bad spirits. While hiking, Clair gets lost, and she has an encounter with a bear. The bear and Clair start sharing a bond that no one can break. What happens when the bear is being hunted? Clair wants to do everything in her power to protect him, but will she be able to? What will it cost her? How long can she keep everything a secret? How many lies must she tell? And who will get hurt?