Welcome to the Jewel, where the only thing more important than opulence...is offspring.Here, class rules. And if you weren t born into royalty, you were raised to serve the royals. Carefully tested and selected teen girls from the outer provinces are auctioned off as surrogates for royal women who are no longer able to have healthy children of their own. Living in palatial comfort at the heart of the Jewel, these surrogates must use their abilities, known as the Auguries, to genetically manipulate the baby that they will eventually carry, in order to produce the desired traits of the perfect heir. Surrogate 197 -- Violet -- is bought by the Duchess of the Lake. With only the servants to communicate with, she quickly learns some of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel s glittering façade -- the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way-of-life. Violet struggles to accept the sobering realities of her existence. Just when things couldn t be more complicated, a forbidden romance blossoms between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired to be a companion to the petulant niece of her owner. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their interactions will cost them both more than they bargained for.