Every day, 16-year-old Koral and her elder brother Emrik put their lives in danger in order to hunt down the enormous maristags that inhabit the dark waters surrounding their island. They must, or their family will go hungry. The ruling class, the Landers, have enslaved Koral's family to supply the maristags for the Glory Race, a fatal chariot competition reserved for the upper class, in a marine planet teeming with ferocious monsters. The victorious candidate will gain gold and fame. If they're lucky, the others live. The financial position of Koral's family deteriorates when the last maristag of the year escapes and she has no new maristag to sell. As a result, her family is unable to pay for her younger sister's chronically ill sister's medication. The only option left to Koral is to cheat her way into the Glory Race, something no one else has ever tried to attempt. However, each step of the way is unpredictable as Koral competes against opponents who have spent their whole lives training for this and who have no intention of letting a lady from a low caste steal their victory. Koral must decide between choosing her life or that of her sister before the entire island catches fire as riots break out and rogues attack her in an effort to get her to drop out.