In the cold, treacherous land of Vesimaa, children are stolen from their families, forced to undergo a horrific transformative procedure and serve as magical fire-wielding soldiers. Pran and Oksana - both taken from their homes at a young age - only have each other to hold onto in this heartless place. Pran dreams of one day destroying the empire; Oksana only dreams of returning home. When they discover the emperor has a new, more terrible mission than ever for them, Pran and Oksana vow to escape his tyranny forever. But they soon find that the only way to defeat the monsters that subjugated them may be to become monsters themselves.