Jim Maloney’s long-shot admission to the prestigious Institute of Aethereal Sciences and Engineering is his chance to escape poverty and isolation. Jim’s an old hand at manipulating aether—he’s been forging the stuff into water purifiers and coyote spookers since he could first heft a hammer. His fellow scholars, though, are equally talented at manipulating people. The cut-throat rivalries and fanged egos of elite academia quickly nip Jim’s naïve enthusiasm in the bud. Meanwhile, Jim's intoxicatingly charismatic suitemate and botany student, Bash, seems intent on cultivating the potential he sees in Jim, and their atypical relationship flourishes. However, when Jim lands on a potentially revolutionary medical device as his area of study, Bash is appalled by the ethical implications. Jim's work could be weaponized. But where Bash sees death, Jim's professor sees profit. With his future at the Institute at stake, Jim must choose: save countless lives with his device at the risk of ending others, or trust Bash and sabotage his own greatest creation to prevent its weaponization. As he wrestles with his decision, Jim starts to worry that not even his own mind can be trusted in the Institute where aether can be manipulated to change the very substance of a person's memory.