No one knows anything about the Unspoken, a mysterious group of people recognizable by their intricate tattoos, except that their headquarters is in the basement of the Gratis Building. When Keres is assigned to this workforce, her whole world is rocked to its core. Nothing she can imagine is as fantastic as the truth. Abbot, her phlegmatic mentor, reveals the Unspoken's secret ability to cast spells with the ink in their tattoos. Keres feels as if she's leading separate lives. One life beneath the surface of Chelon with her fellow Unspoken and another above ground with her friends under the vigilant eyes of The Mothers, a tribe of sadistic women who control the city. The constant threat of their torturous punishments forces Keres and her friends to hatch an elaborate plot to escape. Torn between the need to save her friends from The Mothers and her strange new life with the Unspo-ken, Keres struggles between her destiny and her desire.