What does it take to save the world? Kaya Ajaratu never asked that question until she came across a child she had orders to kill. On the run from the government that created her, Kaya must learn how her talents, decisions, and the children she defends affect the future.

Mkono Mungu (God's Hand) is a lonely desolate world where technology has far outpaced the population's social and moral capacity to use it. Once a vibrant and flourishing world, an ecological disaster ruined Mkono's biosphere. Now a desert wasteland, billions of people pack into mile-high, self-contained towers rising from the sand. Violent gangs choke rundown slums, and unwanted children roam the streets.

Outside the towering cities, a lawless desert wasteland lies. Remnants of the "Old Cities" dot the landscape, and wrecked war vehicles and broken bridges jut out from dunes. Scattered weapons caches from centuries of fighting fuel the Izibi war machine. Some of the galaxy's oldest artifacts lie buried beneath the sand.