Leo Voss has survived three years in the Ash Barrens by staying faster than his problems. Captured by Helix Dynamics after a failed data extraction, he expects interrogation or execution. Instead, he meets Klem-07, a newly created Mesher supersoldier who quickly realizes her training left out something crucial: emotions.
As Helix closes in and a countdown begins before the corporation erases them, Leo and Klem discover the truth—Meshers were never empty, only suppressed. In the desert, with borrowed time, they must build a network, a resistance, and learn to name feelings no one ever taught them.