What if the person you love is the reason you're hurting? Noughts & Crosses meets This Mortal Coil in this gripping dystopia-romance set in a future where pain is transferable but someone always pays the price.

'A thought-provoking dystopia about what it really means to endure.' The Irish Times

Ever since a cataclysmic solar flare struck 150 years ago, Helical Disease has plagued the city of Alta Bay. Those infected endure excruciating pain and a blue light that crackles beneath their skin. There is no cure.

However, Dominion Pharmaceuticals has created a revolutionary treatment that transfers the disease to people with unusually high pain thresholds. These Pain Carriers feel little to no pain, and they’re paid generously for their sacrifice.

Nova Williams is too focused on surviving to question the system.
Castor Fox, heir to the Dominion empire, is proud of his family’s legacy.

When a chance road accident throws them together, their connection is undeniable. But as they begin to fall for each other, a devastating truth comes to light: Nova is Castor’s Pain Carrier.

As darker secrets about the procedure emerge, Nova and Castor must decide whether to accept a broken world . . . or risk everything to change it.