For Nathan Duffy, life involves several truths-he has an iron grip on his talent, he will never walk again, and he will never stop putting his best friend Camilo Almenara ahead of his own well-being. In a world where talent can kill or save, Nathan's nearly did both at the same time. When a drunk driver T-boned Cam's car, Nathan lost control of his talent. He saved his best friend and nearly killed himself.

Nathan thought the accident that left him crippled was the worst pain he would ever experience. He was wrong. After years bottling up his talent, it finally breaks through. The hallucinations he experiences induce pain beyond anything he's felt. It also means he is a danger to everyone he is close to.

For Cam, life has its own truths. Nathan only had the power to save one of them, and he chose his friend. Cam walked away without a scratch, but the guilt is never far. He's spent the years since the accident taking care of Nathan-or at least trying to. Now something is happening to his best friend and Cam can't help. So he goes to the one person who can--his father, Colonel Caesar Almenara, a walking legend whose talent has no equal. And who also refuses to help.

If Cam and Nathan don't find a cure fast, Nathan will quickly find himself drugged, drafted, and shipped off to war. Desperate and angry with his father, Cam takes Nathan to the one person he thinks can help, a friend of his deceased mother who helped work on a top secret military project that could be behind Nathan's condition. A project Cam's father led.

When Cam's father tracks them down, Nathan is out of time. He offers to go quietly, but the Colonel has other plans. One that includes the other personality that keeps taking over Nathan's mind. If the Colonel succeeds, Nathan has a chance at a better life. If not....