In a world divided by blood and race, Veralee Harper comes of age under the guardian oaks of her family's isolated plantation in southern Alabama in 2040. Red Oaks stands frozen in time, a haven for Simulacrum people for generations, against the chaotic world of the Friguscor. Life quickly unravels when her own split second decision breaks the Simulacrum law she is bound to keep. The blood moons have begun, the watchers have returned and war with the cold-hearts, the Friguscor seems inevitable.

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As she struggles to reconcile deep love for her family and loyalty to her people with the reality she is coming to know and the love she finds for a mysterious man, she realizes she is marked by more than the tseeyen on her arm. Many have a plan for Veralee Harper, but only she can decide which way it will end.