Annabelle Scott (16) is out of step with her post-Second Civil War society. Males are exiled, quarantined or forced to fight to the death to train the military elite by the same regime that took her biological parents when she was three, an ache that won't go away. With her adoptive mom closely watched in the political opposition, Annabelle can't burden her or her beloved younger sister with her need to find her birth mother or her attraction to a handsome redheaded boy she spies at a local prison. The state forces Annabelle to become a cop intern to catch fugitive boys. She helps the redheaded Morgan escape. Then out of frustration, she fights an amazon bully to protect her sister. To avoid the separation anxiety of exile or prison for disturbing the peace, Annabelle signs up with the elite military corps. During training, Annabelle is shocked to be paired with the amazon bully, who detests boys and enjoys inflicting pain on escapees and sister recruits. Can Annabelle survive training, help Morgan, and hunt for her imprisoned birth mother, without destroying her relationship with her sister, being exiled or imprisoned, or putting her family in mortal danger?