Maetel abandoned her mother and the doomed, frozen planet La Metal, where survival required people to become cyborgs. When she is called back, her options seem slim: she could follow her mother’s path, adopting a robotic mind and the contempt of all humans, or she could flee and fight with humans against the machines. Yet she is not without comrades and defenders. If she can accept the friendship of metallic beings who desire peace and oppose those who believe that being made of flesh and blood alone defines humanity, she may still have a chance to find her own path.