Sixteen-year-old Celadon is the last of a family of superusers - the powerful guardians able to reshape the dangerous Waste that surrounds their domed city. But her family's heroic legacy hasn't brought glory - just disaster and a long list of ways to die. Even Cela's own mother lies comatose with mindshock, her life support set to end within days.
Then Cela unexpectedly discovers her own abilities, and a run-in with a bad-tempered young guardian sees her immediately conscripted as a trainee. As risky as the job will be, it might be just the chance to save her mother's life. Cela is determined to be the first to ever bring a guardian back from mindshock, no matter her inexperience.
Yet the Mesh-storms aren't the only threat she faces. Some of the greatest dangers come from the most unexpected sources...