Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne's docks, is nothing her unique abilities can't handle. But unbeknownst to her, Sancia's been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The merchant houses who control this magic - the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience - have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact's secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims. Now someone in those houses wants Sancia dead and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, nobody has the power to stop them. But there are those who may have the courage to fight alongside Sancia. Like the hackers who practice scriving in secret, half a step ahead of the houses' thugs. Or the technological wizard who's bartered his soul for political power - and, beneath his cynicism, may be desperate for a chance to redeem it. Or the constable whose eagerness to bring Sancia to justice is matched only by his need to hold the powerful accountable for their sins. To have a chance at surviving - and at stopping the deadly transformation that's under way - Sancia will have to marshal these unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact's power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.