With their own water and power supplies, fourteen year old Nairne, her brother Zane and father Daniel are well prepared to cope with the effects of climate change, but most people are less fortunate. Thousands are fleeing the chaos and social unrest brought about by severe floods, heat waves and droughts which are sweeping across the UK.
When Nairne persuades her father to house some of the evacuees on their small holding in the south of Scotland she plunges the family into a world of violence, deception and murder.
Nairne soon discovers the truth. With society at breaking point, she has to grow up quickly as she alone can take revenge on those responsible. She discovers that the fortress Daniel built to give his children a chance has become the prize in a struggle where winning can mean the difference between life and death.