Superheroes are big business. Imagine not being able to afford them. Kit Baldwin can't afford trouble, not in a city where superhuman Empowered only offer their help for a fee. But rent doesn't wait so she scavenges the ruins for valuable artifacts from a crashed alien ship. When Kit discovers a powerful alien object, it pays off more than she ever hoped. The artifact draws the attention of Valene Blackwood, the one Empowered with a conscience. Valene's gifts come at a price; she hears everything, everywhere, always. Kit's ambition morphs into harnessing the object's cosmic potential to mitigate the trauma Valene's powers inflict on her. The city can't afford to lose Valene. Neither can Kit. In love and running out of time, Kit unleashes the artifact's full power, transforming her forever, as well as the battle over what is owed, and to who.