You don't go in the water. You don't touch it. If you do, it will get you, drag you down, and you're gone. Harry Iskinder knows the rules: Don't touch the water, or it will pull you under; conserve food, or you'll run out at the worst time; use Sundered slaves gently, or they die too quickly to be worthwhile. The Sundered create food. The Sundered create shelter. They're also dying out. In a world lost to deadly flood that kills on contact, Harry thinks he knows the score, but when he claims the magnificent and powerful Sundered One named Aakesh, he quickly finds himself in deep and dangerous water.