Vega Jane and her friend Delph have taken the map that Quentin Harris left them and set out from the town of Wormwood, determined to brave the Quag and find freedom on the other side--but the Quag was designed to keep the town people in, and it is filled with bloodthirsty creatures and sinister magic, and it is not going to let them escape unscathed.

Since he was captured by the Glorious Path, a militant religion based on the teachings of a former soldier, fifteen-year-old Cal has served the Path in its brutal war with the remains of the United States government, and tried to survive and protect his younger brother, but when he kills an officer to protect a stray dog, Cal is forced take his brother and the dog and run.

The Haven, a commune in the mountains, seems harmless--until Mailee's best friend Cara decides she's going to stay there forever. How far will Mailee go to bring her friend home?