This standalone book is full of characters keeping secrets from each other, so as a reader you start off a bit in the dark as well. It’s one of those sci-fi books where the science is so far in the past that it might as well come off as fantasy. The city in question is Corcannon, which is experiencing earthquakes of increasing frequency and intensity; as the seemingly unrelated characters pursue their separate goals, you slowly get the feeling that some kind of creepy “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” vibe is going on in the background. I found the ending a bit deus ex machina, but Shinn makes it work, and her character work is stellar as usual.