[2] The novel begins with an introduction to Crescent "Cress" Moon Darnel, a sixteen-year-old girl living in a satellite in Space that has been her prison for most of her life.

Jacin Clay, a pilot who brought Sybil to Cress's satellite, decides to join Cinder's side, while the almost fatal wounding of Wolf renders him unconscious, and Sybil leaves Thorne and Cress to die after shutting down her satellite, making it hurtle toward Earth without a way to stop it.

The crew has now been separated from one another and Cinder is sure that not only are Cress and Thorne certainly dead, but that Scarlet will soon share the same fate, as will Wolf if she doesn't get him medical attention.

During this time, Scarlet is being held at an aristocratic Lunar household, being forced to be a "pet" for a young boy to practice his gift on.

They nearly die of heat exhaustion, dehydration, and starvation, but are saved by a traveling group of people who sell wares, (who are eventually revealed to be Lunar traffickers).

Once the entire group is reunited, Cinder plans an infiltration of the castle to stop the royal wedding between Earthen Emperor Kai and Lunar Queen Levana, even though she knows it will start a war.

While Cress and Wolf dismantle the security operations for the wedding site, Cinder and Iko kidnap Emperor Kai by tranquilizing him and cutting out his ID chips, with the help of Konn Torin.

After stopping the wedding, Cinder plans to take the crew to Luna, declare herself as the missing Princess Selene, and get the Lunars to rally around her to dethrone Levana.

They fly the Rampion en route to Luna, and Queen Levana retaliates by openly declaring war on Earth.