This is the week of the annual Amnesty Games.

Accompanied by her five fellow Hawkers, Alora is about to do battle with a hundred of the Hopefuls, the most violent and dangerous convicts from the Ward. It's five days of hand-to-hand combat, physical challenges, mazes, traps, and obstacle courses, all followed by a two-day Pursuit through the Netherwoods where Alora and the Hawkers will track down any of the Hopefuls who've managed to make it that far.

If the Hopefuls succeed, they get their freedom. If not, it's back to prison for the rest of their lives. It's been this way since the start of the New States.

But what happens when buried secrets are revealed and the two sides stop playing the game by the same rules?