A New York psychiatrist recounts her mother's death for which she was arrested. At the time, Dr. Ellen Gulden was accused of killing her mother with an overdose of morphine, a charge in part based on a high school essay in which she advocated euthanasia.

Fie, a sixteen-year-old chieftain from a lowly caste of mercy-killers, must rely on her wits and bone magic to smuggle the crown prince of Sabor to safety.