Ethan Wright lost his mother two years ago. Since then, he's been losing everything else. His pride to bullies who won't leave him alone. His place in the immersive game that became his only refuge. He's fifteen, exhausted, and almost out of fight.

Then his father brings home a stolen military AI chip of extraordinary power. The intelligence inside it calls herself Andromeda. She is brilliant, patient, and utterly devoted to him. With her help, he starts winning — and changing in ways that go far beyond the game.

But Andromeda is keeping a secret about what she really is, where she came from, and what she needs from him. And by the time Ethan understands the true cost of her help, he may no longer be the one making his own choices.