Three generations ago, the Modernist Mission arrived on the ice planet Tählti to find it already inhabited by the Firsts, humanoids who have evolved an antifreeze glycoprotein in their blood. With the next ice age nipping at everyone’s heels, the Modernist government will do anything to get the protein – even experimenting on the Firsts in secret. Despite Modernist general Lucian Devereaux’s best efforts, what began as a medical research facility to ensure his people’s survival becomes a concentration camp. When an exiled vigilante learns this secret, he threatens to tell the world and spark a war between Modernist and First – a war neither can afford before the ice age. Surrounded by enemies, Lucian must figure out whom to trust, or neither subspecies will survive much longer.