In November 1954, Irish observer Aodhán Fitzwilliam is taken on a Russian front after he pulls a wounded horse-kin translator from a ditch and introduces himself to a rifle. Japan, not at war and not at peace, sends Journey—a citizen beastkin adjutant—to watch him. In a winter camp of Dolls, ledgers, and wrong pronouns, three capitals decide a copper-haired boy is more useful alive than free. When the Winter Union offers parole as marriage to a flagship Doll, Aodhán must choose between the cage and a banner. Journey’s orders are to keep him on the page. She is not told what to do if she starts to care.