Description

When Jack Rudberg crosses the border into the glittering industrial heart of the Association of Sovereign Nations, he's just another orphan with a cigarette addiction, a shaky hand, and a mind sharp enough to build miracles—but too fractured to believe in them.

He dreams of working for the legendary Crystal Industrial Solutions, but the deeper he goes, the more he realizes this country isn't the fresh start he hoped for. Surveillance, secrets, and ghosts from his past haunt every step—and yet, amidst the steel and smog, he meets Helen, a law student with her own hidden scars and a name that carries more weight than he could ever guess.

As Jack struggles to stay afloat, the two are drawn into each other’s worlds—slowly, quietly, and then all at once. But with every truth uncovered, the ground beneath them shifts. Jack must decide what he’s willing to become: a tool for a broken system—or something far more dangerous.

Love, power, and identity collide in this slow-burn romance of healing, rebellion, and the quiet fight to build a future from shattered pieces.