"The Guardians," have saved a fragment of 1890s America in nineteen spheres when a natural disaster threatened to drive humanity to extinction. One hundred forty years later, Clara is a seventeen-year old princess that feels a great obligation to her kingdom that is encased in a steam-engineered, bio-sphere for their survival. Clara's father, King Raymond, passes away when she is only twelve, leaving the Kingdom of Ohio in the sadistic rule of her mother. Queen Ada has promised Clara's hand in marriage to an abusive prince of a neighboring sphere. When it's discovered that there are people outside the sphere that did survive, Clara deliberates on escaping Outside to a future free of abuse and tyranny. Unbeknownst to Clara, the Clan people of the Outside have their own calamity and set of perils. Those two objectives collide in an emotional and tumultuous story of love, duty and survival. Clara Williamson is a reluctant princess and daughter to Queen Ada, lover of wine...who exchanges Clara's liberty for free trade of grapes from another sphere... Bracus, who as a protector of the Band, must save his clan's people from extinction Outside... Charles, Clara's long-time companion, keeps his love for Clara tightly veiled... Prince Frederic, her sadistic betrothed, bent on having her...and she, escaping his grasp... Suddenly, with both the clan and sphere peoples' destiny in her hands, Clara finds herself torn between love and duty...