Below the streets of New State, Grounders fight to remain free of the advanced technology that controls the citizens above. To do so, Wren risks her life raiding the city and fighting its deadliest killing machines, Phantoms. On one of her clandestine visits, she meets Codex, a New State citizen who doesn't fit her preconceived expectations. The individuals from opposite worlds are pulled together, and Codex introduces Wren to the dream stream, a computer simulation that allows people to live out their fantasies devoid of emotional entanglements.

Wren, on the other hand, wants to get to know Codex better on a personal level, but her unexpected and intense feelings are punishable by death. To save their lives and their secret, Wren convinces Codex to leave New State and join her fight for freedom. This one small act sets off a momentous chain of events, and the unrest between New State and the underground escalates. When New State threatens to destroy her world and the Grounders retaliate, nothing goes as planned. Families are arrested, loyalties are strained, and Wren is forced to choose between her people and her emotions. One wrong choice could condemn Codex, and reality could slip away forever.

About the Author

Lisa Acerbo is the Director of General Education at a small, local University. She holds an EdD and MFA from Western Connecticut State University. Her short stories and poetry appear in Scarlet, Poor Yorick Literary Journal, Ripples in Space, Universe in a Bottle by Flying Ketchup Press, and Whatever Happened to Hansel and Gretel? by Fathom Publishing (a finalist in the 2024 Best Books Awards in the category of Fiction: Anthology). Her romantasy novel, Death and Coffee, was published in 2025 by NineStar Press. Her next novel, The Netherworld Witch, a YA Fantasy, is arriving in 2026. When not writing, she can be found walking her rescue pups in the woods.

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