Seventeen-year-old Gloss Nicholo has trained his entire life to volunteer for the Hunger Games. To District One, he's a rising star, bred for victory. But behind the flawless Academy drills and gleaming blades is a boy shaped by an abusive father, haunted by a mother's death he barely remembers, and driven by a desperate need to protect his younger sister Cashmere. His only solace is Ruby Barker, his best friend and daughter of a victor, who sees the boy behind the ambition. When he finally volunteers for the 63rd Hunger Games, it's not just to win glory. It's to prove to himself that he's stronger than the pain that forged him. Strong enough to survive. Strong enough to never be powerless again.