Half a century ago the Immortals vanished, leaving crops to slowly rot as famine spread. Twenty-year-old Kora has never lived in a world where immortals reigned and yet she hopes for their return as Athens grows increasingly hostile between pro- and anti-Immortal factions. 

Kora spends her time experimenting with growing vegetables in her near-barren garden while telling her youngest sibling Michael stories and thwarting her mother’s matchmaking attempts. Until one fateful night when she uncovers her twin brother William’s secret and stumbles into a brewing rebellion—where he takes the knife meant for her.

After witnessing her twin’s soul being taken by the God of the Dead, the King of Immortals offers her a deal: trick his brother Shade—the god responsible for her world’s plight—back to the Isles of Nekrós in exchange for William’s life. 

Shade has no intention of returning to the title that once was a prison sentence that isolated him from everything but the dead. Not for his brother nor for the mortals. No matter how tempting this fiery woman is...

Trapped in a battle of wits between two gods, Kora hunts for an elusive pomegranate that will fulfill her agreement. The more time she spends on the Isle of Waiting, the more she questions where the blame truly lies. But if she must choose between her brother and her world, or the fate of an immortal, what choice does she have? 

Even if what she will have to guard most against is her own wavering heart.