Nhika is a bloodcarver. She has the power to alter human biology â€" to heal or to harm with just a touch. In Theumas, Nhika is seen as a monster who kills for pleasure, and her gift is highly prized in the cityâ€s criminal underworld. When Nhika is finally captured, she is sold to the highest bidder â€" an aristocratic girl dressed in white. But her mysterious buyer is not looking for an assassin. She needs Nhika to heal the only witness to her fatherâ€s murder. Nhika vows to hunt down the killer and all signs point to Ven Kochin, an alluring yet entitled physicianâ€s aide. Despite Kochinâ€s relentless attempts to push her away, Nikha canâ€t help feeling drawn into his opulent world. But she soon finds herself in a fight for her life â€" and for the future of her own kind.