In a future world where humanity has conquered death, the Scythes are the only ones who can end life, tasked with population control to maintain balance. Rowan and Citra, now Scythe apprentices, are thrust into a dangerous ideological war within the Scythedom itself. As they navigate deadly politics and their own moral compasses, the all-seeing artificial intelligence known as the Thunderhead watches, bound by its own laws not to interfere in Scythe affairs, even as the world teeters on the brink of chaos.