When war orphan Rin aced the Keju; the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the academies, she surprised everyone: test officials, the guardians who wanted to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise, and even herself. But being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the the south is not easy at Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan. Targeted by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers...

Rin's story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War--an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters. The war is over. The war has just begun. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the...