Everyone in the Alliance knows about the Reflections. It’s the opportunity to get into the University, the only government-recognized form of education, and those accepted are guaranteed success and comfort for the rest of their lives. Thus, when Em Gades receives the silver invitation, her future is secured. The worst that could happen is she gets sent home, right?

Until she arrives, and the rumors about the Reflections prove true. The only way to live is to get into the University, and to do that you must be one of the four remaining Chosens at the end of the competition. Although she was warned beforehand to trust no one, Em quickly forms attachments to her fellow teammates with the hope that as many of them can survive as possible. However, as Chosens are rapidly executed for failing competitions, Em struggles to understand that, if God is real, why he would let something so terrible happen to a group of mostly innocent teenagers. With likely no more than a few days left to live, she and the other Chosens must navigate life or death situations and find answers to the question:

Are their lives worth the deaths of others?