In a crumbling republic where the ancient system of values—and the noble families who upheld it—has been torn down, Clemenza Giudice, a clockmaker, has one goal: do whatever it takes to regain her family’s noble status. Even if another noble dies as a result.

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When Clemenza is asked to join a team of criminals to steal an illicit piece of technology for the man who took everything from her, she negotiates for a chance at reestablishing her family’s nobility.

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It turns out people are harder to control than clocks, and now she’s stuck on a journey into the heart of a dangerous capital rumored to hide dark experiments with corrupted aether. Her companions include an ostentatious smuggler and a handsome noble architect who harbors a secret. Clemenza must navigate their conflicting, self-serving motivations in an Italian Renaissance-inspired world where betrayal, theft, and murder flourish.

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The true cost of helping her family might be becoming like the man who ruined them. She and her companions must decide what’s more important to protect: their own interests or those of their broken society.